❤pdf A Good Death: A compassionate and practical guide to prepare for the end of life

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BESTSELLER
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A Good Death A compassionate and practical guide
to prepare for the end of life
Sinopsis
Companioning the dying We learn how to companion
someone who is dying, rather than being afraid of
them and their death. Companioning is an
old-fashioned word. For me it conjures someone
quietly supporting another. It comes from the
Latin for bread and was used in old French to
mean breaking bread together. There was a time
when it was used to describe a person, usually a
woman, either connected through family or paid,
who was well bred but retained as the
subordinate of a wealthier, usually older
person. There is strong evidence that most of us
are comforted and our fears quelled by
having someone with us as we die. Were talking
about someone who could be family, but not
necessarily, whose role it is to be with the
person until they die. To be the person who holds
their hand, metaphorically and literally. This
is a place at the deathbed thats been devalued,
but its time to restore its value. Dying alone
While no one can come back to tell us what was
going through their minds at the moment of death,
nurses believe that, just as some dying people
wait to say goodbye, some people wait to be
alone to die, dying when family members have
left the room or gone to have a cup of tea.
Jenny T had this experience when her father died.
He had reached the terrible terminal stage of
Parkinsons Disease. He was no longer able to
swallow and his organs were shutting down. The
dying was long and protracted after many days
of being at his hospital bedside pretty much
around the clock, Jenny T, her mother and
brother were almost hysterical from emotion and
exhaustion. Jenny T recalls I insisted that
Mum come out for tea at the cafe. When we
returned, about twenty
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minutes later, Dad was dead. I was struck by
guilt, but my mother said she was sure he had
chosen that exact moment to spare her the
distress of seeing him die. Sadly, there will
be people dying who had no visitors and no one
with them at all, at any time. Sometimes, there
are no next of kin nominated. But despite this,
palliative care staff will try to ensure the
person does not die alone. Being engaged with
people in this situation is sometimes a task
handed to a palliative care volunteer, due to
the pressures on the time of the professional
staff. While these volunteers cant be with the
dying person all the time and may not be with
them at the moment they die, their goal is to
provide companionship and human contact where
possible. Volunteers say this is one of their
most rewarding experiences. In rare cases, the
dying person will give explicit advance
instructions about not having family members
with them. Even so, they might ask a nurse to be
with them. Retired palliative care nurse Fran
remembered one case when a woman living by
herself in her own home sent all her family
members away, leaving Fran alone with her as she
died. She didnt want her family and friends
with her but she wanted Fran, who she saw as
objective, neutral about her family
relationships, nonjudgemental and
compassionate. They all left and I was the only
one there with her when she died. All her family
and friends were told not to come by so it was
just me and her. I felt sad that I was the only
one there with her. It was an experience I will
never forget, Fran said.
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A Good Death A compassionate and practical guide
to prepare for the end of life
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A Good Death A compassionate and practical guide
to prepare for the end of life