Learn some simple steps to honor the sacredness of the moments before and after death.
My favorite guest Barbara Karnes, RN is back for another episode where we talk about issues in hospice care. Barbara is an internationally recognized speaker and expert on end-of-life care. She is author of the popular booklet Gone from My Sight and By Your Side: A Guide for Caring for the Dying at Home, among others. Today Barbara shares some fantastic tips for how to help a family create a sacred space for the moment of their loved one’s death and just after. We discuss what hospice providers, death doulas, or family members can do to enhance meaning and reverence as the last breath is taken. These simple reminders are important to make sure that we don’t overlook this brief moment-in-time that is filled with so much significance and grace. Learn more about Barbara’s work at her website:
This episode includes:
- What to do in the hours before a death
- How to be a “conductor” for this final moment of life
- Why each family member should be encouraged to say a private goodbye
- How to prepare the body immediately after death
- How to arrange the room immediately after a death
- When to call the funeral home
- What to do after the body is removed
- How to talk about the benefits of having a visitation
- How to help family members, including children, write letters or draw pictures to leave with loved one at the funeral
- How to create sacred space in a hospital room or ICU
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Previous episodes with Barbara Karnes: Episode 354, Episode 369
- Video: How to Pack a “Ready to Go” Bag for EOL Emergencies
- Download the “Ready to Go” Packing List here
- Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
- Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
- Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, occasional movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
- Buy me a coffee
- Donate on Paypal
- If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest patrons Laura Lyster-Mensh, Joy, and Margie Blanchard and thank you John Wadsworth for increasing your pledge! Your contributions make all the difference.