Category Archives: hospice story

“IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE”

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Amy Getter

“If I should die before I wake….” A child’s prayer my little sister and I sometimes spoke together at bedtime, not totally aware of what we were saying, I think, or we would have kept our eyes open and not slept a … Continue reading →

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TAKEN BY SURPRISE

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Amy Getter

“Dying is a lot like birthing, even though you expect it; you are still taken by surprise.” I returned from a brief vacation, and as is the case with hospice nurses everywhere I suspect, I looked at my work emails very late … Continue reading →

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THE FACE OF DYING

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Amy Getter

Marge lay dying in her bed while her daughter waited for the end.  Her face had slowly shrunken in over the last few days, looking thinner and paler and what could only be described as a shadow of her previously rosy … Continue reading →

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THE PEACE PROJECT

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Amy Getter

Some things really “level the playing field”. Dementia is one of those things.  The wandering thoughts of the brilliant become as uninspired as those of the dullest.  A man who advised United States’ presidents and developed national policy lays in his bed at the end … Continue reading →

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MEMORIES OF THE WAY WE WERE

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Amy Getter

We will remember …scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind, Smiles we gave to one another…… the way we were  (The Way We Were, by Alan/Marilyn Bergman) Today Ivan, who is ninety, reminisces about his papa, because today is the anniversary of … Continue reading →

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THE HEART STEALERS

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Amy Getter

I ducked my head under a canopy of gnarled and overloaded candy-pink rhododendron branches as I came up the sagging steps to the front door and rang the bell.  I waited. After a bit, an elderly woman answered, breathless and slightly flustered from … Continue reading →

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SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Amy Getter

Do days sometimes just blur together into a big grey mess?  I was looking at my niece’s note on Facebook, her feeling of juggling so many colorful balls at once while riding a unicycle and the knowledge of how fragile … Continue reading →

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NO WHINING

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Amy Getter

I’ve transformed into a whiner recently. In a wash of self pity, I rubbed the side of my head, hard-hit as I had reached for my cane which had fallen beneath the kitchen table. I was obediently performing my hated … Continue reading →

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ADVENT OF SPRING

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Amy Getter

Over the years, I have worked with many intelligent and incredibly competent physicians that have earned my respect and certainly the respect and trust of those who were their care recipients. In the past decade, I have cared for only … Continue reading →

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A MONSTER IN THE CLOSET

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Amy Getter

Mary and I sat quietly together, talking about her dying.  Light increases her headaches, so she lays in a dark room most of the day.  She is rather pragmatic, facing her death many years before she ever expected with frequent stark remarks … Continue reading →

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