The Traveler's Guide to Life

Today's episode will focus on supporting grievers as they navigate grief after the death of someone (or something- animals count too) they loved. 

Grief is something Hospice is able to help patients and families process before the death, as we’ve talked about. They’re also still there for support after the patient dies.

Today’s episode has us exploring the idea of saying goodbye to those on their end-of-life journey. 

Waving goodbye to someone at end-of-life can be incredibly hard but having a bit of a game plan before it gets to that point can be helpful. We call this legacy work

On today’s episode we’re focusing on the end of the palliative care journey for someone, which as we’ve learned can start far before hospice care would be appropriate and people can be on for years. 

Palliative care can help support someone living with a chronic condition for years before their illness reaches a point where they’d qualify for Hospice. However, once that chronic condition gets to a point where a person’s life expectancy is six months and they no longer want to seek curative treatment the palliative care journey draws to a close and a referral to Hospice may be made. 

Today, we’re exploring our feelings along the way, particularly near end of life. Something you really don’t hear people discussing a whole lot.

Talking about death generally makes people uncomfortable, especially in our society. But sometimes, because we don’t talk about it, witnessing the emotions people go through or physical changes that happen to a person while they are dying can feel scary.

Today, we’ll be discussing loving someone who is on a palliative care journey. It’s really dynamic, isn’t it? I imagine it’s a relief seeing someone you care about receiving more care that they might’ve really needed.

For sure. Especially if you’re a caregiver, caring for someone might be rewarding, but also exhausting. And having the extra helping hand that Palliative care can provide is such a help to the patient and their family.

In today’s episode, we are exploring the concept of cumulative grief, and why it can be so hard to navigate.

Yes, cumulative grief can be so complicated when you’re the one experiencing it. And of course, we don’t talk about it enough. Grief can be about many things, not just losing a friend or family member. And it’s very possible for us to be grieving multiple things at once.

Today's episode focuses on the thing a lot of people want to know about but don't ask about; the actual dying process. What this end-of-life journey physically looks like. 

For both the hosts the actual process of dying, what it looks like, was never something discussed before a loved one was on hospice. While it was a lot to take in knowing what was "normal" and what to expect when was so helpful.

Today's topic is about things that happen behind the scenes for the patient's enrolled in the AIM program. The benefits to the program that seem to take a "back seat", if you will.

Perfect analogy and yes, no one likes a back seat driver, but these aspects of the AIM program are not the annoying back seat driver you've joked about. These pieces make the AIM program such a wonderful source of additional support for our patients. 

Today's episode has us exploring the idea of staying connected even after the end-of-life journey. Is staying connected to someone who had died a "normal" part of grief? 

Absolutely! It's not something that everyone feels comfortable with but it is completely normal. We don't talk about grief and what that looks like so when we experience it, it can be overwhelming and confusing.  

Today we're looking at loving someone who is on their own Hospice journey. Having loved someone who was on Hospice the hosts can tell you there is a lot to this. There is a lot to consider, for sure. Loving someone who is on their end-of-life journey with Hospice support is both heartbreaking and beautiful.