Caregiving and Hospice, May 22 - May 28, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Hospice: What You Don't Know Can Hurt, http://j.mp/1Ub34SH « allnurses

Book Review: “Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying,” http://j.mp/27Vi2GH « SevenPonds Blog

The enemy is not death. The enemy is needless suffering, http://j.mp/1TU0i4q « Kevin MD

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

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Understanding and Managing Grief, May 22 - May 28, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Making the Most of Memorial Day, http://j.mp/22nSpdq « Grief Healing

A Light In the Dark - My Tribute to Soaring Spirits International, http://j.mp/1TJKjZe « Soaring Spirits International Blog

Brilliant: Pre-planning your Emotional Response to Death...Ain't it Precious? http://j.mp/1TJD182 « Soaring Spirits International Blog

A Special Memorial Day Offer

From Self-Healing Expressions, publisher of my online email courses:

This Memorial Day as we take time to pause, remember
and honor the fallen in our personal ways,
we also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the families
who mourn their losses each and every day.

For anyone struggling with grief this holiday weekend,
breathe and take gentle care.

Today Self-Healing Expressions is pleased to offer you
or anyone in your circle who might benefit,
this free ebook by Marty Tousley, grief counselor
and author/instructor of The First Year of Grief: Help for the Journey.
See if it might be of support.

Explaining Stillbirth to A Toddler

[Reviewed and updated July 8, 2022]

There is no footprint too small that cannot leave an imprint in this world.  ~ Author unknown

A reader writes: This might be a hard request but is there anything you would recommend for my 2 ½ year-old granddaughter who knows her 23-week-old born still brother "has gone away?" She was told Eden was too small to come home, and when asked "Where do you think Eden is?" she says "with the fairies and angels."

My response: I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your family, and my heart goes out to all of you. As a grandmother, you are coping not only with your own grief at the loss of this baby, but with the grief of your own child and that of your granddaughter as well. That is a heavy load to bear.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 15 - May 21, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

What is an Undertaker? Interview with Patrick McNally, Part 1, http://j.mp/25f4w1R « SevenPonds Blog

Coping with loss? Find a New Mirror, http://j.mp/1U5Qd6U « Second Firsts

Laughter and Grief, http://j.mp/1WINZi4 « HuffPost Lifestyle

Coping with Pet Loss, May 15 - May 21, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

If Grief Is a Contest, I Win, http://j.mp/1swcqlr « HuffPost Women

Nothing 'Inappropriate' About Grieving the Death of Your Cat, http://j.mp/1R9O5GO « HuffPost The Power of Humanity

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Teen Grief: Grandparent's Death Triggers Unresolved Grief

Grief: "something thick and gooey inside" 

[Reviewed and updated December 6, 2021]

Grief was like the mud that covered them. Messy. Quickly spreading everywhere, once it found a way in. ~ Veronica Rossi

A reader writes: My grandpa died five months ago. He lived with me for the first nine years of my life after which I moved away. In the past six years plus, I saw him only once for 20 days about a 1.5 years ago. My grandpa was like a parent to me because my parents were working. We had an amazing few years together and he showered all of his love on me. I was his favorite. He was a beautiful man with a great sense of humor and selflessness. He always cared for other people and forgot himself in his worry over and care for others. He was a great soul and I was very, very close to him. But then he got seriously sick at the beginning of school and junior year being very important, I was unable to go see him. I made the choice of going through with my responsibilities instead of visiting him because that's what he would have wanted. He died a few days later and it was very painful for me. But it was even more devastating for my mom, so I wasn't able to talk about my grief with her. 

Caregiving and Hospice, May 8 - May 14, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

LETTER: A ‘warning’ on hospice fund solicitation, http://j.mp/1OoFFRn « Richmond County Daily Journal

I am dying and I want everyone to talk about it, http://j.mp/1qghKb7 « The Guardian

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 8 - May 14, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Sitting with Pain: Week 2 of BE-ing with Suffering, http://j.mp/1Ol5bH5 «  Hospice Times

When a death isn't peaceful, serene or good, http://j.mp/1WYIfPh « WhatsYourGrief?

Self Talk: What happens when we start to believe it? http://j.mp/1rEjlch « Rx for the Soul

Voices of Experience: Prayer for Safety ~ A Pastor's Response

by Michelle Jarvie

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

It was a normal moment. The last meeting before Easter was coming to a close, the cookie container was emptying, people were discussing next steps. Sitting in my church’s conference room at a large rectangular table, I heard one of my colleagues say, “Let’s close in prayer.”

As the ISIS attack on Brussels occurred just one day before, the first prayer request was for the safety of a friend we all knew traveling in Europe. “I’d also like to pray for my children, who are traveling for Spring Break. Please bring them home safely,” another chimed.

I don’t think I heard anything after that. Instead, I felt my temperature rise, saw my husband’s body dragged on the road by a reckless SUV, and revisited many thoughts I’ve had hundreds of times before:

Caregiving and Hospice, May 1 - May 7, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Make this the Nurses Week we all want. Here's how. http://j.mp/1WP7WSk « Kevin, MD

Caring for Mom at Home, http://j.mp/1Y6zbXq « Barbara Karnes, RN

Going the Distance: Caring for Loved Ones from Afar, http://j.mp/1SK4044 « Hospice of the Red River Valley

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 1 - May 7, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

What Scares Us About Grief ? Week 1 of BE-ing with Suffering, http://j.mp/1TpTDON « Hospice Times

Coping with Grief on Mother’s Day: Selected Resources, http://j.mp/1FIpvMj « Grief Healing

Grief for a Loved One With Dementia, http://j.mp/1SJiRbu « Hospice Times

Coping with Pet Loss, May 1 - May 7, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Life With an Aging Dog, http://j.mp/23xsDme « The Huffington Post

PetLoss: Afraid to Love My Remaining Pets, http://j.mp/1rMVE1P « Grief Healing

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Pet Loss: Afraid to Love My Remaining Pets

Source

Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learned here.  ~ Marianne Williamson

A reader writes: I had to put my 13 year-old baby Tasha to sleep three days ago. It was so hard. Even my vet and the vet tech cried. It was comforting to know that she was surrounded by love when she went. My problem now is that I have this huge emptiness in my heart and I feel like I can't love my other dogs as much as I used to.

Caregiving and Hospice, April 24 - April 30, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

War and Peace in Cancer - The Words We Choose, http://j.mp/1pSblD4 « HuffPost Lifestyle, UK

Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), http://j.mp/1SxdIDh « GeriPal

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.

If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 24 - April 30, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Pressed against a star (a poem for longing to be home), http://j.mp/1NGoIBo « Danielle LaPorte

On Grief and Brokenness, http://j.mp/1YWqr6f « Reflecting Out Loud

Healing and the Two Sides of Truth, http://j.mp/1r2K3uD « The Five Facets