Hugs are magic

Today I went to a home where the patient was my age. He was actively dying after giving a very brave fight to his cancer- 2 weeks ago he was out to dinner- his wife lamented. You see, young patients can hold and compensate during terminal illness fairly well until they can’t. And they tumble quickly from an active life into the dying process. His son was in charge of his comfort meds and this young man had many questions wanting to make certain he was doing everything correctly. He was. He was doing everything from Love, you can’t get any more correct than that. After spending time reviewing and answering it was time to go. The patient was comfortable and clean, hanging in the balance between the worlds.  

As I was walking out the door the son stopped me- “Can I ask you something?”- yet another concern- others had called him and shared their experiences with their dying loved ones- they had done it differently- was he doing it right? We walked through his fears and addressed each one. He stood between me and the door, clearly he did not want me to leave yet.  

I sensed his need, “Can I give you a hug?” I asked.  

“I thought you’d never ask!” he smiled. He stepped into my space and this young man melted into my arms, I felt our energies meld and he tucked his head on my shoulder like a small child would. It was a sweet moment. When the exchange was complete he released me of his embrace and thanked me again. It was a beautiful moment, one I needed as much as he did. It fed my soul and brought me comfort and I can only hope it did for him as well.  

As I open up to Spirit I experience more and more lovely moments of energy exchanges- it is always Loving, Love is who we are, Love is all we need.  

Holding Space

Holding space 

This weekend I visited and revisited a patient who is actively dying, unresponsive. She is young and has young children and a lovely husband. This is beyond difficult. Her body has made itself ready, but her Spirit has not left for reasons only she knows. Her birth family lives in another country so I suggested to the husband to organize a facetime or zoom mtg where everyone could say their goodbyes because we in hospice believe that she can still hear. He called one family member and within an hour they had organized it, and everyone was on board. This brought much needed support to the husband and closure for all those involved. The next day when I visited, he reported it was a beautiful time of sharing for everyone. 

The kids were coping as children do- in their own way. I offered a copy of my book “Little Star” to the husband and explained if he felt it was appropriate to share and if not that was okay too, it is a small gesture on my part. 

The husband plays music with the kids, they have formed a little band and enjoy sharing this. They played me a rendition of “Lady Madonna” on two pianos and drums, it was very sweet. I am sure this will continue after the patient passes as it is wonderfully therapeutic on so many levels. 

I spent time holding space for the husband, for him to say whatever he needed to say. Holding space is a sacred thing, when I do not inject my own self, but just bear witness to another’s needs, validating and supporting them. I can open my heart to compassion and release any need of judgement- it is a gift I have learnt to love and offer. It is why I do this work, nursing is a sideline, the spiritual support and compassionate love I get to practice is as healing to me as I hope it is to others. It fills me with a sense of being part of God’s Love and that indeed is a gift. 

The last moments before I go- I say goodbye to the patient, sending her love telepathically. I then ask if I can give the husband a hug, he holds on for a long time and I can feel the energy of Spirit passing between us, offering him the comfort of connection in a time of his heart break.  

This is why I do this work, but I am learning more, I am learning to connect with Spirit in a way to offer more comfort to those left behind. It is the next logical step in my evolution. But until I am able to bring this forth I will continue to hold space and give hugs.  

Dog signs #3

Today I bought swordfish, with that comes a mirage of memories of my golden Ruby. Swordfish was her favorite; she would lunge into the kitchen when she smelt it and wag her tail and smile with anticipation knowing that I had bought her her very own portion. Her joy was my joy.

So today I couldn’t help but think of her. Later as my youngest and I were walking our newest golden Oliver, I told him the dinner plan. He smiled- “Ah, Ruby’s favorite!” We then shared some fond memories. A reddish car swished by the last letters of the license plate were RBY- “hmmm that is definitely a sign” I mused as I had no reason whatsoever to even look at the license plate…

An hour or so later I’m wasting time on Facebook with mindless distraction when my “memories” appear from 10 years ago. “House Ruby” it says- “No one loves you like a dog!” I can just hear her- ‘Just in case you missed my first sign.’

She was a beautiful dog and is a beautiful soul. She has appeared in my morning meditations leading the pack of animals that have graced my life making it richer and deepening my love for myself. When someone loves you so much you must believe you are worth loving.

 Indeed, I aspire to love others like a dog, unconditionally and with enthusiasm- but perhaps without the wet nose.

Forever Mom

I read an article today which touched my heart-it was about being a “forever mom.” I never thought of myself as a “forever mom”- a mom of a child with disabilities who may never leave home because they need someone to care for them- right now I am that someone for my son Sean . Since Covid my middle son has been living with us which enables me to work without having to get outside help which has been a blessing in many ways. They are best of friends; a mom can only dream for that.

When Sean first got sick with epilepsy, we would go to the doctor’s office, and I would see children much more severe than him. Their parents had to do everything for them- feed them, change them, carrying them in some cases, I felt blessed that Sean was so capable of many activities of daily living- a term we use in the health field. I felt blessed and hopeful that he would heal, and he has- but he still needs someone to assist.

Everyone has their challenges, I have friends who have children who have died, others who have lost themselves to addiction and continue to struggle, and others still who have “normal” healthy lives to have gone off to college and beyond. My feeling is that we are all “forever Moms”- meaning once you give your heart to another human being in unconditional love- you are always there for them, emotionally mentally, spiritually if not physically.

When Sean was three, he told me he remembered being in heaven. He told me he had picked me, that he had a choice between coming to me or going to England where there was a pinball machine-and odd choice! I asked why he picked me-he gave a little three-year-old giggle and said- “Mom! I came to keep you company!”

I have since reminded him of our long-ago conversation letting him know- he has done a wonderful job but if he needs to move on- I will be okay! For now, and forever our bonds of love will never be broken- as love lives beyond time, space, death, and epilepsy.

Archangel Michael

Archangel Michael is one of my favorites. I often call upon him to ensure the safety and wellbeing of my home and family.  I ask him to clear my home of lower vibrations and fill it with God’s light so that those of us who live here are living in the highest vibrations possible. I then ask he surrounds my car and travels with protection.  Then I forget I’ve asked safe in the knowledge that he has heard my request- that is until yesterday…

Christmas time people drive like shit, I know not very spiritual of me, but honestly, the truth is often times blunt.  I was driving home from doing some early morning errands hoping to avoid the rush that develops later in the day.  I am going thru a two-lane intersection, and I am on the righthand side being good- going the speed limit and being aware.  All of the sudden the car in the lefthand lane is driving into me- now parallel soon to be in the same space I am already occupying.  They are so close I can barely see the space between our cars. I lay on the horn and slow down to a stop and the car cruises in front of me into an abandoned parking lot.  Everyone behind me had stopped too, probably as they could see what was happening before I could. I don’t know if the elderly man driving even realized what he had done, perhaps he was having a medical issue, he was lost or was just oblivious, I don’t know and never will. 

The gratitude of words poured out of me- “Thank you Archangel Michael for keeping me safe!” The words felt funny as I never had to say them before-that I am aware. I imagine there have been numerous times Divine Intervention has occurred and I wasn’t aware- but then I wholeheartedly expressed my gratitude. 

It is said that Angels and the Spiritual world cannot assist us unless we request it- so just a friendly reminder -in this busy world don’t forget to ask you Angels for help and protection! They’re glad to do it.

The dog medium

The other day I took my golden retriever Oliver to the dog park for a playdate with a friend’s new dog.  She had adopted Izzy from a local rescue who brings dogs up from Louisiana due to their high kill shelter rate.  Izzy is still a puppy, her past a mystery but she has scars to prove a rough beginning, a healed fractured pelvis.  She is a complete sweetie, high energy dog holding nothing back as she raced around chasing the bigger dogs.  She has no past in her mind, she is in the moment loving life and her new people. Another dog lesson to be absorbed by us humans…

On my way home, Oliver is sitting in the back looking out the passenger side window as we stopped at a light.  The car next to us is an older woman lost in thought suddenly she turns and gazes at Oliver and her whole face changed to one of hopefulness.  I rolled down Oliver’s window as she had rolled down hers, she looks at him and calls out- “Do you have a message for me from my Casey?” It is clear to me in that moment that Oliver has become a dog medium- he indulges her glances as I call out from the front- “Oh yes!” She smiles, the light changes and our days both have just gotten brighter, golden in fact.

Healing our brokenness

Yesterday my brother visited- we had not seen each other in a long while due to the chaos of the world.  He has spent half his life listening to other people’s pain and helping them to navigate to the shores of healing.  He is a calm and gentle soul. We share a common childhood but as we reminisced, I realized how two people can be in the same environment and have very different experiences and memories. Ours was a household fraught of conflict laced with underlying tones of love. Our parents were broken people who as often broken people do spread their pain.  It tempered both of us as adults we both are in the healthcare field helping others as this in turn helps heal us. As parents we both choose to release the pain and end the behaviors that shaped us, so we didn’t repeat patterns onto our own children- but I am certain we offered them other challenges to navigate.

Our Dad was a complex person- a former Marine, heavy drinking heavy smoking strict man who had a compassionate heart that sometimes surfaced with great acts of kindness –

We were out in the bay in our little motorboat when my Dad saw two men in the middle of the bay standing waist deep on a sandbar that would soon be consumed by oncoming tides.  Obviously panic stricken with no watercraft in sight these men waved to our Dad.  He headed over to them, two men, one was very different to my 4-year-old eyes, he had long curly blond hair and small breasts, the other I don’t recall. This man stuttered his gratitude as my Dad hauled them into our tiny boat and motored back to the shore without conversation.  Safely on dry land dripping wet and shivering they again voiced their gratitude as we motored away.  This incident was never discussed, as an adult I understand the enormity of what took place, two gay men left in the middle of the bay- neither could swim…as a child I witness an act of kindness, a man doing the right thing no matter his views, these were fellow human beings in distress, this was a silent lesson of compassion as many of our lessons were.

Often our brokenness is what tempers us to be the people we were meant to be.  I have long since forgiven my Dad for his, and embraced him as a fellow human being that was often in distress doing the best he could from where he came from.  In the end all that really matters is the love we shared, and the love we keep in our hearts. Once again, Love is all that matters, a silent lesson learnt.

The choice

As I write this my words are scrambled, and my thoughts are like a tornado of ideas whirling around my sadness. The pain of losing a child is unimaginable – the pain of losing a loved one dedicated to children is unimaginable. Some would say-How can God allow this? We have the gift of free will- He allows us to make choices….

What can we do with our broken hearts? When our hearts are broken open it is an opening for more of God’s Light and Love. Love and Light are and always will be more powerful than fear and darkness.

No baby is born with a gun in their hands, we have an opportunity to make things different. The person who goes on a rampage was once reachable, and probably more than once called out for help, attention, love, and support-but something went wrong-. Clearly, I am not defending their actions, I am just saying, there was a window of opportunity to help heal that person that was missed. And there are more people out there who are that broken and in need of connection.

Here’s what I believe can make a difference-

We can change by starting with our own hearts, first loving ourselves- and then making the commitment on a daily basis to reach out to others in compassion and kindness- making a human connection every day in some small way. Do not underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, of listening to someone tell you their story-. Connection is the key.

Is it that simple? Yes and no and I don’t know- what I do know is that someone who feels isolated, unseen, and unloved will turn to behavior that puts them in the center of attention even for a brief moment to fill that void. And their void becomes our pain, our loss, a deep sadness for all involved.

I pray for the little souls and the big souls that suffered this tragedy – I pray for the families who must endure this -unimaginable pain. I pray for us that we find a new path through the darkness and hold each other close- so we heal together and come out the other side of fear and darkness to Light and Love.

A Sister Flies Home

When a hospice nurse dies it reminds us that we indeed are still human despite the work we do everyday at death’s door, one day that door will open for us as well. Most of us push that notion aside and provide care and comfort for others while doing God’s work. Beneath the façade we know its true, someday someone will hold the door open for us and we will walk into eternity…

Yesterday we said goodbye to a sister in hospice nursing. Her family and friends crowded the venue and us sisters of hospice sat at the edge listening to stories of love and laughter about our coworker we were not aware of. It was lovely and bittersweet, she was a force of nature, fiercely loved as she will be fiercely missed. It made my heart full to know that on the other side of her work day she went home to a world of love, laughter, and support.

I knew her only through our work, we supported each other in times of challenges and shared laughter at the absurdity of it all. She shared a little of her personal life, her challenges at home were just that.

I lamented to another hospice nurse that I wished I had known her better and she reminded me that we each have a place in each other’s lives- mine was to be a sister in hospice, that was enough, that was important, that was where she needed me.

It is an incredible bond, there are a dozen plus of us on our hospice team, there is inherent respect and love as we navigate the challenges of the corporate world and the human heart. There is a strength in numbers, we buoy each other with compassion and respect. And we stand together sharing our hearts to say goodbye to a sister who has flown into the world of the angels.

Saying Goodbye

This has never happened to me; I had a patient on hospice since 12/2018-until yesterday. That is a really long time in my world. I spent the first two and half years as her case manager and the last 6 months as the fill in for her new case manager. Some deaths are quick as the body and spirit align in understanding but with dementia there is a disconnect, the confused mind doesn’t align with the spirit and the dying process can be slow and agonizing for the family to watch. Her passing was peaceful, but just took weeks rather than days.

Beyond her dementia her personality was someone who was stubborn to boot- but mostly she did not want to leave her beloved husband and so she lingered.

Her current case manager had gone on a much-needed vacation, so I was enlisted to daily visits. I knew it was the right thing to do as much as my heart was tender.

When I first met this patient, I was wearing a lime green jacket, she wanted it and let me know every time I visited. So off and on for 2 years it was our little joke, until she forgot about it, didn’t recognize me anymore.

So, this is indeed a sad story- so why do I even bother to share it- first because it is reality for so many- dementia, having it or caring for someone who has it. I will tell you the secret to persevering through this maze-LOVE. In fact, most of our life problems are buoyed and endured by LOVE. We just must remember to stay centered in it.

The other thing I wanted to share was as I was sitting at the kitchen table, navigating the grief of her beloved husband and sons, I suddenly felt the sweetest softest gentlest energy surround my shoulders…she was saying Goodbye!