Although most Canadians say they’d like to die at home, more than half of us die in a hospital. Subsequently, it is nurses, particularly those who work in hospice care, who are with the patient, or the patient and their family, when the death occurs. At our recent meeting, we invited Huguette, a retired hospice nurse, to share with us….
Medical Certification of Death or Death Certificate? These are two distinctly different legal documents that are both often referred to as the Death Certificate, thus creating confusion. The Medical Certification of Death or Coroner’s Medical Certificate of Death is a document completed and signed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or coroner. It includes the name of the deceased, and the…
Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) first came into effect in June 2016. It continues to evolve, with the latest changes coming into effect in March 2021, and more expected in March 2023. The law “seeks to respect personal autonomy for those seeking access to MAiD, while at the same time protecting vulnerable people and the equality rights of all…
Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) is arguably a natural way to end a life. As the organs of the body shut down and eating becomes challenging, the person facing their end-of-life may prefer to collaborate with the dying process by abstaining from food and water. Loved ones insisting on nutrition and hydration, sometimes by tube feeding and IV lines,…
Embalming is the art and science of preserving a human body after death to delay decomposition. This practice goes back thousands of years. The Egyptians had elaborate rituals for their pharaohs that included embalming, believing the soul would return to the body, but only if it could recognize the body it belonged to. In the 17th and 18th centuries in…
My first experience with the death of a loved one was unnerving. I did not know how to interpret the physical and mental changes I witnessed. I had no capacity to learn about death while it was unfolding before me; it was difficult enough just to be there. In bringing a baby into the world, there are opportunities to take…
Currently in British Columbia we have few choices when it comes to returning our bodies to the earth (usually called the ‘disposition of the body’), the most common being burial or cremation. Conventional or Natural (Green) Burial in a Cemetery: Most of us are familiar with a conventional burial. Natural burial involves returning the body to the earth as naturally…
Cortes DeathCaring Collective is a once a month gathering of folks in which we talk about death, dying, and grief, educate ourselves about current and alternative approaches, and strive to make death truly a part of life in our community. The DeathCaring Collective was inspired by folks from neighbouring Quadra Island, who had already been meeting for a couple of…
After meeting for several years some DeathCaring Collective members, inspired by folks from Denman Island, created a service called Community-Led Death Care. This group of volunteers are ready, even on short notice, to provide practical and emotional support to those approaching or navigating death. In the past, communities cared for their own at death, simply and naturally. Death was a…