Fear and Love

Nothing terrifies me more than dying alone.  Dying in pain. 

It seems that I gravitate to things that make me uncomfortable though.

I’m terribly afraid of what the end of life will look like, so naturally, I’m studying it.

I have so many questions that I cannot answer, but I'm so eager to find those answers.

And for what?

So I can sit back and watch my life go by, instead of discovering it day by day?

(Which one sounds more fun to you?)

One quote from Dr. Byock’s book “The Best Care Possible” that I hope to grow into in the coming years as a professional is “to affirm life we must affirm all of life, including dying, death and grief.” (282).

I knew that nothing about this project would be easy or comfortable, I’m dealing with one of the most fragile periods of our lifespan, reading about death on a daily basis, along with other tragedies of dementia and AD diagnoses, and yet, all these lessons show me just how much love we have in the world.

How many caregivers do we have today?  How much love are they sharing with those they care for no matter how frustrating it may be.

“Most of us will be physically dependent and intimately cared for by others in the days before our death.  This fact does not destine us to become undignified, it simply confirms that we are human.” (Byock, 281). 

Caregiving is fundamental to human life.

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