Recent Articles
10/03/2017
Submitted by: Lisa Barker The following story is from Lisa, who offers advice from her own experience of a month-long stay in a hospital. Lisa says, “After gallbladder removal surgery, at the age of twenty-five years old I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare liver condition. Within eighteen hours I was in liver, kidney, and […]
05/16/2016
How can you help someone take a “mini-vacation” or take a break from suffering?
06/20/2016
Is there a negative side to positive thinking? Letty Cottin Pogrebin in her book, How to be a Friend to a Friend Who’s Sick, says, don’t pressure a terminally ill person to practice positive thinking. Positive thinking cannot cure Huntington’s disease, ALS or inoperable brain cancer. Telling a terminal patient to keep up the fight […]
11/24/2015
Editor’s Note: One of the most caring things you can do is to prepare meals when a friend has an extended illness. We’ve always thought the website Take Them a Meal is a brilliant way to coordinate that act of caring with friends from across your community. We found the story below on the Take […]
10/19/2015
We all know the power of a good story, but did you know that a good story is a powerful painkiller? Helen Mullen, a librarian, tells the story about visiting the pediatric wards of hospitals and telling stories to the children, many of whom were in severe pain. While the children were listening to the […]
07/22/2015
Sometimes I whisper, “Forgive me mom. I didn’t know.” My lovely mother died eight years ago, and when she was in a nursing home for six years, I certainly made some careless caregiving mistakes.
For example, when my mom was recovering from pneumonia and was bed-ridden, many grandchildren and relatives visited her. That was wonderful, but I was so happy to see some of these individuals that what was supposed to be a visit with my mother became a social occasion.
09/20/2015
Deanna Thompson has stage IV breast cancer and has written a book about her journey. The book’s title is Hoping for More. Deanna’s insights are for everyone who has ever struggled with serious illness or loved someone who has, which means that this book is ultimately for everyone. “You don’t look sick,” was a common […]
