Navigating Dying

Living in a compromised body has given me deep insight and empathy into suffering and ways to think more expansively about what quality of life can mean. Having an invisible disability meant I was often not believed by doctors and I had to learn to navigate medical systems and understand and synthesize medical terminology and information myself. My first experience of seeing someone diagnosed with

a terminal illness and navigating their end-of-life occurred when my stepmother was given a three-year prognosis. She was an extraordinary woman who chose to face her cancer head-on and was intentional about how much treatment she was willing to tolerate and calibrated that with the pleasures she wanted to experience that was possible during the time she had left. Hers was my first experience of what a “good death” could be, which was contrasted by the painful and lonely deaths neighbors and loved ones dying of AIDS confronted. Studying to be an end-of-life doula and volunteering with hospice deepened my understanding of how the needs, desires, moods, and capacities of someone moving towards their end-of-life change and how to help respond to those changes. I also spent time learning about the rituals and traditions different cultures and religions have around death and dying to be able to serve clients from all walks of life. As a progressive Jewish woman, social justice is essential to me in all its forms, and I am continuously educating myself to serve my clients better.