Reena Lazar, co-founder of Willow End-of-Life Education and Planning, writes that although death is the one thing in life we’re certain of, most people do everything in their power to avoid thinking about, talking about, let alone preparing for it. The vast majority of people don’t have any documents in place, because they live in a state of death denial,…
Many people are not aware that in British Columbia it is legal to care for a body at home. Family and friends are allowed to sit with, wash, dress, and otherwise tend to the body. They can build a casket, make funeral arrangements, and provide transportation to the cemetery or crematorium. There is no legal requirement to use the services…
Adults with an advancing illness, increasing frailty, or a chronic condition that is life limiting or life threatening may say they’d like ‘no heroic measures’. What does this mean? We always have the right to consent to or refuse health care treatment. However, a situation may arise when we are unable to speak for ourselves. Advance Care Planning is about…
When a person dies in British Columbia, burial or cremation cannot legally take place until the death has been registered with the Vital Statistics Agency. The executor named in the Will is responsible for this (if no Will, then the next of kin). Although it is usual to hire a licensed funeral director to do this and other death-related tasks, the registration…
Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of…
A will is a legal document that leaves instructions about what the person making the will wants done with their estate and obligations after they die. Your estate is made up of the property and possessions, also known as the assets, that you own at your death (some exceptions are joint ownership and those with a designated beneficiary). With a…
“How are you?” asks Dr. Cicely Sanders. Then, “And how are you within?” Hospice focuses on the care, comfort, and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end-of-life. It can refer to a place where people go to be cared for as they die, such as a ‘Hospice House’ or ward in a hospital….
Mary Oliver writes in Snow Geese Oh, to love what is lovely and will not last! What a task to ask of anything, or anyone, yet it is ours, and not by the century or the year, but by the hours. Everything we love in this world will not last. We will not last. “It’s never too late,” we say, smiling…
A Representation Agreement Section 9 (RA9) is a legally enforceable document for authorizing someone—a Representative—to assist you or to act on your behalf for health and personal care matters. The RA9 covers decisions about living arrangements, lifestyle preferences, minor and major health care, and the choice of life support. The RA9 does not cover financial or legal affairs; for this you…
A significant number of people will experience a coma in the process of dying. As people approach death, they often enter more or less remote states of consciousness for varying periods of time. These states may appear painful for the one dying and cause grief in loved ones. But coma therapists believe that altered states present opportunities, including a chance…