by Rachel Thompson, Mashable. When someone you love passes away, turning to Facebook can be a profoundly helpful way of processing that loss and expressing your grief. But, for the deceased’s nearest and dearest, social media can be deeply overwhelming and upsetting in the immediate aftermath and even the long … Read more
When Elaine Searle was a young woman her beloved uncle was buried and she was shocked by how bad the funeral was. “His coffin just slid out of sight, after a few platitudes were said. There was nothing personal.” “Even though I was only in my early 20s I thought … Read more
Noelene graduates today at the Liverpool Hospital Palliative Care Volunteer training program. It’s a great program run by great people. She receives her certificate from Janeane Harlum, the area Palliative Care Manager and Alex Huntir, of Palliative Care NSW. https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/cancer/pallcareVolunteer.html
It is fascinating but not surprising how experiences of grief can be quite different. “My mother died in a car crash. She drove into the path of an oncoming vehicle about 15 years ago – fully her fault,” Graham said. “We felt no anger at either her or the other … Read more
What a wonderful idea! The Reflected Legacy project with artist Flutter Lyon has been started to bring comfort, support and creativity to the Palliative Care Ward at Liverpool Hospital,Sydney. The goal is to transform a grey hospital ward with colour and conversation, and capture the life stories of people who … Read more
“Oh dear!” Linda Hansen groaned as she looked at yesterday’s goodgrief60.wordpress.com posting. Linda is the Executive Officer of Palliative Care NSW and every time a story comes out, like the one I posted yesterday, she frets that the good people working in palliative care will feel undervalued. That posting picked … Read more
The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care. Statistics show that everything Ellen Goodman says about the American experience is the same in Australia. That is, we have the same gap between the death people say they want and the death they have. … Read more
Dying To Know Day is an annual day of action dedicated to bringing to life conversations and community actions around death, dying and bereavement. D2KDay launched in 2013 and has seen 285 events and has sparked thousands of conversations about death, dying and bereavement. Go to the Dying To … Read more
~~~ “About 70% of Australians have specific wishes about their end of life care but very few get to put these into practice” says Independent Patient Supporter & Advocate, Dorothy Kamaker. “In the United States it’s estimated that between 25 to 30 per cent of people achieve these wishes but … Read more
Journeys of the Heart by Jodi Rose. Arbon Publishing. After losing her husband, the famous Australian swimmer Murray Rose, Jodi searched out the stories of other carers who were there for those they loved, supporting them until they died. Those interviews turned into this collection of stories. The subtitle of … Read more
Today I’m remembering my brother Julian, who was killed this day five years ago, in a motor-cycle accident near his country property. As our brother, Damian, said in his eulogy for him; “There was an explosion of light too beautiful, and our dear Julian was shot into the Heavens, where … Read more
When Mark’s partner Jane died, he didn’t expect the reaction of her family.
If an expected death happens in the middle of the night definitely wait until morning…
“Grief is the unavoidable consequence of ‘letting go’,” says Catholic priest Monsignor Tony Doherty. Tony has sat with families and friends at the bedside of the dying on many occasions during his 50 years as a priest. “One of life’s fundamental human equations goes like this: the more you … Read more
When does grief become abnormal? And if we don’t see it in medical terms soon enough, do we lose chances to help?