Early this morning, Bruce, with about two months left to live with his cancer, started his videotaped farewell with a quote from Ecclesiastes, “To every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” He wanted to create a meaningful goodbye to his loved ones, and to talk about the moments […]

Exhausted, he wants to cry out for rest, peace and dignity. He just wants someone…anyone…to pause for a moment and talk to him. The nurses, orderlies, interns, residents are all so busy. Having a respirator down his throat, he is unable to communicate his thoughts, his feelings, or his needs. And his hand feels too […]

What if you had a year left to live? What would you do? Would you tell people? Would you quit your job? Travel? Spend more time with friends and family? Would you live from your heart? Would you blow your savings? Would you get a second opinion in case it’s a mistake? Is there something […]

If you believe you are of body, mind and spirit, when informed of a serious illness you are summoned to examine the meaning of your life and brought face to face with death: “So that’s the way my cookie crumbled…now what can I do with it?” Ask yourself, “Has life been filled with dead ends […]

“As I near the end of my life, will you seek out information about my disease?” “Will you respect my advance directives?” “Will you embrace your role as my caregiver and be prepared for what to expect?” “Will you respect my wants and my needs…even if they are different from what they used to be…and […]

A dying person needs you—your presence and love! Get to know who they’ve been and who they seek to become—what is the legacy they want to leave? And remember, you can’t say anything wrong as long as you’re there. Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend Read an excerpt now TV Shows […]

If I am dying and you are afraid to talk to me, what is it you are afraid of? Are you afraid you may say something to upset me? –Afraid you might blurt out something upsetting like “you are dying.” Well guess what…I already know that. How upsetting could it be if you tell me […]

It is horrifying to hear that last week when Hurricane Gustav was a Category 4 storm, it killed at least 51 people in southwestern Haiti and 8 in the Dominican Republic. It then blasted over Cuba. And despite 250,000 people being evacuated from the storm’s path, many people were injured on Cuba’s Isle of Youth. […]

Back from vacation, my son sprinted into the house to check on his banded Syrian hamster (Kobe) and tell him all about his fabulous adventures. Suddenly a shrill cry pierced the air and my son, sobbing and holding a piece of paper that had been laying on the hamster’s cage, came running out of his […]

“I am a cancer survivor. “I have been on a vent.“I have been kept alive when I would have died without medical treatment. But it was not done to the extreme. I had a very bad infection that caused a high temperature and very rapid heart rate. Thankfully I recovered, but it could have created […]