Author Archives: Amy Getter

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About Amy Getter

MS, RN, CHPN

THE LOVE CALL

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Amy Getter

That unmistakable “AAAAAAAmmmyyyyyy” heard down the street from my childhood home was my mother’s voice.  None of my friends’ moms had an operatic singing voice that floated throughout the neighborhood calling the other children home for dinner.  Just mine.  We … Continue reading →

Posted in death bed vigil, hospice story, letting go | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

END OF THE WORLD

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Amy Getter

When the Netflix envelopes arrive at our house, it’s often a potpourri of strange movie picks.  This week was no exception.  I’m not sure I had ever seen the movie, “On the Beach” from 1959-a classic I guess- but I can’t seem to get … Continue reading →

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UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Amy Getter

We marveled that he was still breathing, this shell of a person who had been dying for so, so long. His wife had told him-days ago- it was time to go, she loved him and would miss him, but she would be … Continue reading →

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TRAVAIL

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Amy Getter

I was jokingly told this quote last week: “Man is the head…..but woman is the neck and she can turn the head anyway she wants.”* For Bob, this is no joke, but his daily reality: his wife moves his head for … Continue reading →

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IN A MIND’S EYE

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Amy Getter

In past years, mental illness has been nearly as taboo to talk about as death, dying and the like.  How about a person with mental illness who is dying simultaneously?  Jane has had a hand full of DSM-IV labels tagged on her … Continue reading →

Posted in end of life care, hospice story | Tagged , | 1 Comment

THE FIDDLER

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Amy Getter

I watched an old movie last week, Fiddler on the Roof. We all ask what is the fiddler doing up there?  Tevye, the main character says, “Every one of us is a fiddler on the roof, trying to scratch out a pleasant, … Continue reading →

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THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Amy Getter

I left the home of an elderly man, having just pronounced him truly dead: his wife told me she kept touching his face to feel it, still warm though his breath was long gone.  I pondered her words spoken in reverence, “We had … Continue reading →

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ON BEING CURIOUS

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Amy Getter

Someone once gave me a good piece of advice: remain curious. Never stop having an interest in someone’s story.  There are surprises when we least expect them! I recently met a woman, frail and insignificant seeming, living in a trailer, who had traveled the … Continue reading →

Posted in balance, good Samaritan, hospice story | Tagged , | 1 Comment

COUNTRY MOUSE AND CITY MOUSE

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Amy Getter

As I exited the car, I dodged a large “shoe magnet”, as we affectionately call the remains from dog walkers who don’t bring a baggy for their dogs in the morning.  Another nurse and I approached the entrance of a homely, flat-top stucco … Continue reading →

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THE TRUTH ABOUT DWD

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Amy Getter

“Thou shalt not kill” in Hebrew means “thou shall not murder”.  Perhaps it seems a moot point, but there is a difference between the two English words. Thou shalt not shed innocent blood unlawfully, via murder, destruction and ruin….an act done to someone … Continue reading →

Posted in end of life care, who died and made you god | Tagged , , | 1 Comment