Advanced Directives For You, LLC

31/08/2022

Help support SCHS Drama ! During the fundraiser, Daisy Kopenhefer will be paying it forward by giving back to others. Thank you for your support!

18/05/2022

don't look back

Wendy Rieger’s family, friends and colleagues took part in a celebration of life ceremony on May 11, 2022. The event featured several speakers including Carl Menninger —Wendy’s longtime friend, drama professor at American University and her frequent creative partner. Carl read an essay by Wend...

11/05/2022

26/04/2022

Join this FREE video event with Dr. William Bloom and begin to see how possible and powerful it is to die well.

16/04/2022

Artist Eric Bealer was living the remote, rugged good life in coastal Alaska with his wife, Pam, an MS sufferer, when they made a dramatic decision: to exit this world together, leaving behind precise instructions for whoever entered their cabin first. Eva Holland investigates the mysteries and mean...

04/04/2022

Scientists - who "accidentally" made the first ever recording of a dying brain - saw startling results.

06/03/2022

“Sometimes as an antidote to fear of death, I eat the stars.”

26/02/2022

Human brain activity in the final moments before death has been observed for the first time, revealing rhythmic activity comparable to those seen during dr

30/01/2022

The end of life rally
Terminal lucidity
By: Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Published also on: KevinMD
https://donotresuscitate.ca

Granny Rachel, my husband’s mother, was an old country soul. She was a simple lady who loved the Lord.
She accepted me with open arms, when my own parents turned their backs on me.
Granny Rachel made the best sweet tea. The best homemade vegetable soup with corn bread and gave unconditional love to all.

She totaled 2 of her cars twice. Her son would check on her and found multiple candles lit in her house. She left the tub on until it overflowed with water.
Rachel could no longer be independent.
We relocated her to an assisted living center. An almost 5 star-like hotel. Happy, friendly people, and Rachel found a new best friend, her roommate, Sally. They giggled and laughed together over silly things.
After 2 years at the Assisted living center, at the age of 89, Rachel started to deteriorate. Her CHF, her COPD from years of working in a mill in the south where there was pollution and no filters, destroyed her lungs.
Brown lung disease.
Granny Rachel was dying. She let out agonal breaths. At any time, we thought, this was it.
It was the grande finale. My husband, and our son and myself gathered around her.
We held her hand and waited for
granny Rachel to let out her last breath.
My son opened up the Bible as he read: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…..
And then we heard a course whisper. From Granny as she recited: “I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff: they comfort me”
Beyond disbelief, some type of chills ran through our bodies …. For one lucid minute, granny Rachel was with us. She was here to let us know she was traveling through the tunnel to eternity.

My mother. Colon cancer with mets to her lungs. Her brain. We did vigils at her house. Us daughters. We took turns watching her and caring for her with the assistance of hospice.
She would slip in and out of consciousness.
The time had come. Her breathing had slowed down. And then she opened her eyes.
She said to us: “I see angels. Beautiful angels.”
Just as clear as could be.
And then she said: “Joe, there’s our baby Terrence”
Joe was my dad. Terrence was the baby she lost at birth many, many years ago.

Sargent Sam (Sarge) A World War 2 veteran. A father of five and a wife of over 50 years.

When it’s time to transfer out of our ICU, like a promotion; that’s a good thing. But this was a transition to our comfort care suite.

Sarge did not want to be on a ventilator with his lung cancer. He knew it was time. He just wanted his family by his side. As the technicians wheeled Sarge on his stretcher out of the ICU, Sarge, who had an incredible sense of humor, shouted out to me: “I’m going to tell my wife you tried to flirt with me!!!” And with that, I blew him a kiss. Sadness filled my heart as I knew this was it. With his entire family by his side, Sarge died comfortably 2 days later.

How do we explain this end of life rally?
Maybe we can’t. Maybe it’s their way of saying goodbye as they enter the heavens.
They are on the brink of death and they wake up. Stable, lucid, they want to talk and eat and drink.
Rallying is a hallmark pre-death sign of improvement before death.
This can last for a few moments even days. They can sit up and talk.
This rallying is also called Terminal lucidity.

Try to cherish that last goodbye.
That one last opportunity to connect with your loved one while still earthly creatures.

They are saying their last goodbyes, with love in their hearts. With peace.
And they want you to know….
All is well.

(Photo cred: Google stock)

11/12/2021

After a decade of planning and a successful bid to change Washington state law, Recompose, a funeral home that composts human remains, is finally open.

15/10/2021

Neptune Society, Nationwide and Here in the Time of Need.

29/08/2021

01/07/2021

Our third batch of nutrient-dense, Recompose soil has been delivered to our conservation partner to aid in reforesting this former clear-cut.

Reforested lands represent an important tool for mitigating climate change. Trees both sequester carbon from the atmosphere and cool surface and air temperatures locally. After decades of net global forest loss, reestablishing forests worldwide is considered a viable option for mitigating the effects of climate change. Healthy soil empowers agroforestry and contributes to the regeneration of natural ecosystems, thereby helping to reduce negative climate impacts.

The record-shattering temperatures in the Pacific Northwest this past weekend, due in no small part to the emission of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, are a stark reminder that our forests need all the help they can get.

When you choose Recompose for your death care you are not only keeping approximately 1 metric ton of CO2 from entering the atmosphere during your disposition, you are creating beneficial soil which can be used to regenerate forests.

29/06/2021

Secure your spot before it opens to the public

18/06/2021

"To know that the last gesture you'll make will be gentle and beneficial just feels like the right thing to do," says Recompose founder Katrina Spade

05/05/2021

"For all the earth has given me, the least I can do is give my body back, and have it be part of the cycle of things."