Chronic illness

Acute Rheumatic Fever still causes death in Australia.

A happy Indigenous girl living in out back Australia

Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) still causes death in Indigenous Australians, who also have a higher risk of general heart disease death. And currently only one in five people who need treatment for the Rheumatic Heart Disease that results from ARF can get this, according to a Flinders University study. Between … Read more

Making music as a way to say goodbye

"When my Grandma passed away it was a catalyst for me to start writing songs that could help people," says Jay Stansfield.

Here is a wonderful example of how we can bring our talents and who we are right up to the experience of the death of someone we love.  Being with the people we love as they die and actively participating in how we say goodbye to them makes death easier … Read more

Could an end of life doula help to midwife your death? 

End of life doula Belinda Brooks

Could an end of life doula, or amicus mortis help to midwife your death?  ‘Doula’ is a Greek word for a woman who gives support, help, and advice to another woman during pregnancy and during and after birth. The word has now spread to cover the same style of care for someone who is dying.

Other expressions which cover support at the end of life are “midwife to the dying” and the Latin term “amicus mortis”, the friend of the dying.