{"id":21,"date":"2014-05-12T10:55:27","date_gmt":"2014-05-12T19:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/?p=21"},"modified":"2014-05-12T10:55:27","modified_gmt":"2014-05-12T19:55:27","slug":"may-12-what-happens-when-death-comes-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/?p=21","title":{"rendered":"May 12 – What Happens When Death Comes Early?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I recently had a conversation with a Hospice patient’s family member.\u00a0 The patient died, but the death came sooner than the family member was prepared for it to happen.\u00a0 The family member spoke about a feeling of shock and also a feeling of not knowing what to do next.\u00a0 I think the “what to do next” step is the one that is most difficult for all of us.\u00a0 Instinctively we know we have to move forward, but intellectually we just don’t know what the next step is.\u00a0 We talked for a bit and the person outlined some options that were being considered.\u00a0 I told the person that even though they felt empty now, they had given their patient the most precious gift anyone can give.\u00a0 They gave the patient right to die at home, surrounded by loved ones, in a state of dignity.\u00a0 I pointed out that no matter what happens in the future nothing will ever diminish the value of the love and care that was provided.\u00a0 I was told that hearing those words were comforting and that having someone who would listen patiently was a great comfort.<\/p>\n

We can all gain learning from this conversation.\u00a0 Being willing to listen patiently when someone is in need allows us to give them a gift beyond monetary cost.\u00a0 Even after they forget what we said, they will not forget our being present with them.\u00a0 Who do you know that you can lend the gift of your attentive listening to?\u00a0 What would have to happen to make you available to them?\u00a0 Take the next step, reach out and see how you will be allowed to be a vehicle of grace for them by just being there.\u00a0 Please feel free to post some of your stories in listening as replies to this message.\u00a0 Together we can encourage each other in the care of others!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently had a conversation with a Hospice patient’s family member.\u00a0 The patient died, but the death came sooner than the family member was prepared for it to happen.\u00a0 The family member spoke about a feeling of shock and also a feeling of not knowing what to do next.\u00a0 I think the “what to do … Continue reading May 12 – What Happens When Death Comes Early?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}