Hospice Journey Quotes

If we listen and observe carefully the dying can teach us important things that we need to learn in preparing for the end of our own life's journey.

Angels of highest light and love, Angels that radiate beams of pure energy from the heavens above. Please join us and be with us on this very night, As the soul of our beloved joins you in flight. We pray that you send this soul embraced in your lovely wings, During his journey may he hear harps, and trumpets and strings.

They also received much less aggressive care at the end of their lives, with fewer rounds of chemotherapy and longer hospice stays. But the researchers were surprised to find something else. The palliative care group survived for an average of 11.6 months, compared to 8.9 months for the control group.30

Words have power. With every word that rolls through your mind and pours out of your mouth, you are creating your experience by every word you choose

hospice. If she is going to take it, she must move today. The doctors still don’t understand what is wrong with her, only that her self and her strength are ebbing away, and there seems no stopping it. Wilson’s afternoon will be spent getting his wife, with whom he’s traveled the world, ready for her final journey. He is making plans himself to move from their large, beautiful home, with its huge kitchen with tiles around the stove and many bedrooms for visiting guests and grandchildren and Debbie’s home office. Preparing to move to a smaller place, Wilson is giving away treasures—he has given Christa and Marion and me coral and shells and books, and donated large specimens to the aquarium. And yet, in the face of looming tragedy, Wilson has chosen to be with us this morning, celebrating the birthdays of these two young,

Hospice nursing is the purest kind of nursing you can do, and every day you are reminded that you walk on holy ground in preparing God’s children for heaven. Hospice nursing is very intimately participating in the kingdom of God that Jesus spoke about.

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. —Matthew 27:32 (KJV) WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK: GOD IS IN THE DETAILS Which cliché do you abide by: The devil is in the details or God is in the details? No matter; something extraordinary is in the details. Take for instance that single line about Simon of Cyrene. Maybe the Romans forced Simon to help; maybe he would’ve offered this small gift anyway. In either case, Jesus accepted. A cynic might note that Jesus didn’t have much choice, but that misses the point: Jesus had lots of choices. He could have wiggled out of the whole mess with Pilate. He could have chosen a quicker execution. He could have skipped the whole proceeding. He did not. Our youngest daughter, Grace, has talked about becoming a hospice worker when she grows up. She’s seen two grandparents die in hospices. She has seen the kind of people who work there: kind people. Maybe it’s a job; maybe economic circumstances compelled them to work there—does it matter? Fact is, they’re there, in someone’s time of need, to assist others on their journey, to make their passing less difficult. Are we compelled to help others or do we offer? I’m guessing that the person whose burden is suddenly lightened by our presence doesn’t really care what brought us to that moment. Those are just details…and I think God is, most assuredly, in the details. Lord, You said that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for You. Help us to see You in everything we do in our everyday lives, even in the tiniest details. —Mark Collins Digging Deeper: Ps 147:4–5; Lk 12:6–7

Last Comforts” was born when one nagging question kept arising early in my journey as a hospice volunteer. Why were people coming into hospice care so late in the course of their illness? That question led to many others that rippled out beyond hospice care. Are there better alternatives to conventional skilled nursing home operations? How are physicians and nurses educated about advanced illness and end-of-life care? What are more effective ways of providing dementia care? What are the unique challenges of minority and LGBT people? What is the role of popular media in our death-denying culture? What has been the impact of public policy decisions about palliative and hospice care? The book is part memoir of lessons learned throughout my experiences with patients and families as a hospice volunteer; part spotlight on the remarkable pathfinders and innovative programs in palliative and late-life care; and part call to action. I encourage readers – particularly my fellow baby boomers -- not only to make their wishes and goals clear to friends and family, but also to become advocates for better care in the broader community.

That night in the hospital I walked in and out of the hospice ward ten or twenty times, and my eyes and hands moved through the necessary tasks. Well into the night and deeper in my brain, it came to me that as hospital workers, we were being paid to trail along behind Death as he escorted frail, wasted bodies over difficult miles, dragging their loved ones along with him. My job was to meet the traveling party at its designated way stations and faithfully provide fresh supplies for the journey.

If I fight the growth opportunity, then I am not fully present in the gift of the moment

When a life-threatening diagnosis comes knocking on your door in the form of cancer, it is impossible to deny the reality of your impending mortality.

Cancer does not have to be a horrible experience. It is possible to thrive and grow from the experience

It is quite normal to feel alone while on a cancer journey. When those of us with cancer speak out and share our experience, it helps build a sense of community and it is not such an isolated experience.

Life is short and precious. Everything happens to me for my highest growth.

It is an absolute miracle that I am alive right now and I am aware that my future is not guaranteed

Having cancer is NOT a death sentence. It is possible to live and thrive with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis

Wilson has to leave early. He got the call earlier this morning: there is a bed for his wife in a nearby hospice. If she is going to take it, she must move today. The doctors still don't understand what is wrong with her, only that her self and her strength are ebbing away, and there seems no stopping it. Wilson's afternoon will be spent getting his wife, with whom he's traveled the world, ready for her final journey.

In every misfortune there are gifts. These gems born from great difficulty can only be found if one is courageous enough to dive beneath the surface to find them.

hospice care? Some of the services are as follows: Home visits by specialty trained hospice nurses and Medical Director Pain management and symptom control Personal hygiene care from certified home health aides All medications related to the terminal diagnosis All specialized therapies required for the terminal diagnosis Psychosocial, spiritual, and grief support services Volunteers as requested

grief is a journey for which there is no shortcut. The only way out is through.