Tag Archives: dying

Reality Star Jade Goody is Dying

British reality star Jade Goody has shown the country her personality through reality shows, now she is choosing to die just as openly. Twenty seven year old Goody appeared on the British version of “Big Brother” in 2002. She became well known, but not always for good reasons. The press hounded her for her lack of knowledge of British geography and criticized her for running around the Big Brother house naked and drunk. However, she became popular with the public. (This image, by Keira76, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.) She went on to star in … Continue reading →

Why You Should Take a Dog with You When You Die

Recently Wayne was goofing around with our DVR again and decided to put it to use recording old Twilight Zone shows. Before he leaves for work most mornings, we sit in front of the TV and eat breakfast together. Sometimes we watch the news, but since that’s been too depressing lately we’ve been relying on whatever DVR recordings are in the queue for our morning entertainment. That’s how we came to find ourselves watching one of the Twilight Zone reruns Monday morning. No Dogs Allowed in Heaven It was called “The Hunt.” It’s about an old man and his dog … Continue reading →

100 Things Every Marriage Should Experience Before Dying

Have you heard of the book 100 Things To Do Before You Die? (Not to be confused with 101 Things To Do Before You Die, which, while the title’s similar, is an entirely different beast of a book and was written by a different author, Richard Horne.) Dave Freeman, one of the 100’s co-authors, died this past August. I’ve never read the book, but I certainly got a sense of the man. Here’s a snippet from his obituary in the Los Angeles Times: The “100 Things” approach later swept the publishing industry, said Neil Teplica, who wrote the book with … Continue reading →

Going “Home” – Who Will Be Waiting for Me?

Ever since her stroke last Tuesday, my mom has been talking about “going home.” How her people are waiting for her. Aunt LaLa (her mom’s sister), Pearl (her sister), her mom, and her dad…all of whom have passed away. Yesterday she was particularly adamant that she had to get up and get going home because her people were there waiting for her. “Your people are here, Dorothy,” Wayne said. “Courtney, me, Murphy and the cats. You’re not going home just yet. No one’s there.” “That’s true. I do have to go by myself. But I don’t want to. I don’t … Continue reading →

The Pros and Cons of Hospice Care

Recent articles in the New England Journal of Medicine report that Americans are not taking advantage of high quality hospice care at the end of life. One author from Harvard Medical School points out that only a third of Americans are under hospice care when they pass away. High quality hospice care is intended to help a terminally ill person deal with pain and live the best life possible in their final days. Emotional support is just as important as medical support during this time. A recent survey found that almost all families who had experienced hospice care would strongly … Continue reading →

A Name on the Quilt – Jeannine Atkins

Laura and her family have gathered together to make a special quilt to remember her Uncle Ron, who has died. Some of Ron’s friends came over and they are helping, too. As they stitch, they share memories of the fun things that Ron used to do with them. He took Laura ice skating, they went to the lake, they played Scrabble, and they loved to dance in Ron’s living room. By the time the quilt is finished, everyone has contributed their thoughts about Ron and how he will be missed. What the story portion of the book doesn’t say outright … Continue reading →