School: Haverford

From just one hospice visit, I learned that near the end of life, you begin to find beauty in the mundane and simple. During a visit with a new patient, we spent our entire time together talking about food. My patient was commenting on the breakfast food she had in front of her, wondering if … Continue reading “Listening to The Little Things”

Throughout the last year, I have volunteered with three different women suffering from Alzheimer’s, and in doing so, I have reflected on life and death. I think a lot about my own grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, and how she has been incredibly fortunate to receive very high-quality, in-home care. In contrast, my most recent patient, … Continue reading “Lonely and Confused”

There are a lot of clichés to describe death, most of which seem to center around an attempt at personal acceptance of the inevitable. Death is a lot less scary and mysterious when we choose to think of it as a kind of never-ending sleep, or as the next great adventure. Although death is, on … Continue reading “Bringing Humanity to Death”

The last nine months serving as a volunteer have been truly a whirlwind of emotions. Not knowing what to expect as I walked into my first patient visit was one of the more nerve-racking experiences I have felt in a very long time. In particular, even though I knew my patient’s medical status and how … Continue reading “Coming to terms with the end”

I was very nervous the first time I walked into the assisted living facility. I was worried about many things: finding my assigned patient, connecting with her, and making my visits as beneficial as possible. More than anything, however, I was afraid of death. I was afraid of growing attached to someone who would likely … Continue reading “Changing Fears of Death”

I arrived at my first visit with four of my classmates. Our shared nervousness provided a source of comfort as we walked toward the residence of our patients. This unspoken support was short lived, however, as our paths diverged to separate floors. I was excited; I had the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s … Continue reading “Acceptance: The True Fight Against Death”

The Hospice Volunteer Program has been a great way for me to learn about palliative end-of-life care that I was not aware of beforehand. I always thought of physicians as individuals who would prolong a patient’s life through any plausible means; however, I have realized that palliative care at the end-of-life can be better and … Continue reading “Reflection and Realizations about Death and Importance of Palliative Care at the End of Life”

Though my entire experience as a hospice volunteer has been a profound learning experience, my first patient was by far the most meaningful. I spent September, October, and most of November visiting June (I’ve chosen this pseudonym as it seems to best describe her character). Previously, I had witnessed hospice living during the late stages … Continue reading “Joy to End”

Throughout this academic year I have visited a single patient, who I will refer to as Henriette. At first, our visits were somewhat awkward, and I did not feel like I was connecting to Henriette in the way I wished to. She was verbal, responsive, and could carry a conversation for the most part. However, … Continue reading “Reflecting on a Year of Service”

A couple years ago, I picked up Atul Gawande’s book, Being Mortal, on a whim. I was looking for something to read on the train on the way home for Thanksgiving. I started reading the first few pages to see if I liked it, and ended up reading in the library for over an hour … Continue reading “Reflecting on “Being Mortal” and Embracing Discomfort”