Tag Archives: family

WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Amy Getter

Don’t call me morbid because I’ve spent the past few days preparing obituary examples.  I’ll be using these for a class of young people to demonstrate a bit of what “legacy” means: something left behind when you are gone.  This … Continue reading →

Posted in end of life care, legacy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A RIVER STORY

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Amy Getter

When I open my eyes, I see the river flowing out to the sea, as it continues to do, day after day, regardless of what else the day brings with the sunrise. It brings a sense of permanence that steadies … Continue reading →

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

THE HEART OF HOME

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Amy Getter

A hospice nurse travels into many abodes.  So often these homes speak of dreams and accomplishments, or regrets and failures, but they always seem to frame a part of the owner’s story.  Like Cathy’s final work of art, her dream … Continue reading →

Posted in death bed vigil, end of life care, family of the dying | Tagged , | 4 Comments

CHOOSE YOUR BEST DEATH

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Amy Getter

I read a blog last December on “cancer being the best way to die” (by Richard Smith, MD.) He achieved resounding cries of “foul” by many for making this statement and also recommending people stop the merry-go-round of aggressive cancer … Continue reading →

Posted in heroic measures, letting go | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

HEARTS, FLOWERS and BUCKET LISTS

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Amy Getter

Hearts and flowers and sweethearts and love are mentioned everywhere in February. I frequently have opportunities to see gifts of love highlighted by the stark light of loss. This week, a bright bouquet of sun colored flowers were featured on … Continue reading →

Posted in daughter | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

HELLIDAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Amy Getter

“Did you survive the holidays?” I was asked at work, and was immediately struck by the absurdity of the question. I’m not the hospice patient, after all, and I was expected to survive the month of festivities. But I was … Continue reading →

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HUSH

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Amy Getter

You are most powerful when you are most silent.” — Alison McGhee, author Brian was now mostly quiet. He’d been a man in charge, working and amassing a fortune in the corporate world until his terminal cancer marched forward without … Continue reading →

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WHAT WE WORK FOR

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Amy Getter

Someone reminded me of a note I wrote a number of years ago, working for a hospice agency that was struggling with staying true to the ideal of hospice in the midst of growth and financial burden and government regulation. … Continue reading →

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

DYING WITH YOUR BOOTS ON

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Amy Getter

Something I love about my job as a hospice nurse: there are many opportunities to be surprised.  One of my daily mantras is “expect the unexpected”.  As I drove down a switch-back gravel drive in the middle of nowhere, I … Continue reading →

Posted in family of the dying, living | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A FAIRY TALE?

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Amy Getter

Once upon a time there was a man who lived with his two daughters in a lonely clearing in the woods.  They had moved in and cared for many of the things that their mother had always done, after she died and … Continue reading →

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