VOLUNTEER SUPPORT GROUP - DATE CHANGE

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2024 (5:00-6:30PM)

Please MARK YOUR CALENDARS to attend our December 9th meeting; our last meeting of 2024. Whether you currently have a patient/family assignment or not, active volunteers are encouraged to participate. Come share your experiences and insights, and increase your knowledge and skills! Light refreshments provided. I look forward to seeing you! Location: Kauai Hospice Conference Room. (RSVPs are appreciated.)

CANDLE LIGHTING MEMORIALS

Join Kauai Hospice at these profound services where candles are lit in memory of loved ones. Watch as the dimly lit sanctuary fills with beautiful candlelight as everyone present holds a glowing symbol of the relationship that still exists. If you can, patient volunteers are encouraged to bring a hospice family. Three evening services will be held (free of charge). Download the flyer here.

DATE: Monday, Dec. 2, 2024; 6:00-7:00 pm

WHERE: Immaculate Conception Church; 4453 Kapaia Road, Lihue

DATE: Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024; 6:00-7:00 pm

WHERE: Hanapepe Hawaiian Congregational Church; 3815 Hanapepe Road, Hanapepe

DATE: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024; 6:00-7:00 pm

WHERE: Saint Sylvester Catholic Church; 2390 Kolo Road, Kilauea

TED RADIO HOUR: COULD OUR BODIES HELP NEW LIFE GROW AFTER WE DIE?

August 4, 2023 (15-minute listen)

Since its founding in 2017, Katrina Spade, founder and CEO of Recompose has led the successful legalization of human composting in Washington State in 2019. Recompose became the first company in the world to offer the service and the process is now legal in 12 states: Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota and Maine. This new model of caring for our dead is transforming death care practices by turning bodies into soil to lessen the environmental impact of conventional burial and cremation. Spade explains that with the future of the climate uncertain, it's a privilege to focus on the tangible work of decreasing the carbon footprint of the funeral industry. Each person who chooses human composting helps turn the dial firmly in the right direction, creating ecological wealth and giving back to the planet at the end of life. Listen to this NPR interview or read the transcript.

BLOG ARTICLE: THE BIZARRE PHENOMENON OF TERMINAL LUCIDITY

SEVENPONDS (October 9, 2024)

The term “terminal lucidity” was coined by researchers Michael Nahm and Bruce Greyson in 2009. They described the scenario as “the unexpected return of mental clarity and memory shortly before death.” But it is also the ability to participate in meaningful communication near the end of life after being nonverbal for a length of time. Oftentimes, patients will happily and alertly communicate with staff or family as if they haven’t been suffering from severe cognitive decline. While its causes are not fully understood, its occurrence offers a profound glimpse into the complexities of the brain and the dying process and serves as a reminder of the human mind’s ability to connect even the final moments of life. Click here to read.

"THE COMPLETE BOOK OF CAREGIVING"

Thank you cartoonist Kim Warp, for helping caregivers smile by wrapping a powerful truth inside a brilliant cartoon.

Kim has contributed cartoons to The New Yorker for over 15 years. This image is available on T-shirts, mugs, posters, and more.

Mahalo Dr. Downs for sharing this cartoon with us.

FACEBOOK POST: FEAR OF YOUR PARENTS' OLD AGE

(Re-posts Aug/Sept 2024 - Credits to the rightful owner)

"There is a break in the family history, where the ages accumulate and overlap, and the natural order makes no sense: it’s when the child becomes the parent of their parent."

It’s when the father grows older and begins to move as if he were walking through fog. Slowly, slowly, imprecisely.

It’s when one of the parents who once held your hand firmly when you were little no longer wants to be alone.

It’s when the father, once strong and unbeatable, weakens and takes two breaths before rising from his seat.

It’s when the father, who once commanded and ordered, now only sighs, only groans, and searches for where the door and window are—every hallway now feels distant.

It’s when one of the parents, once willing and hardworking, struggles to dress themselves and forgets to take their medication. Continue reading here...