On The Road Again...

Time to hit the road

this morning

MIAMI BOUND

via car!!!

Well OK, not this car

and certainly not Kamryn driving!

We had a great light show last night, accompanied by a great rain most of the night

with the Thunder Beings playing; oh what a time they had.

My kind of rain; starts at dark and ends right before dawn!

Up early with the family here,

the four-leggeds too, running round the pool celebrating the freshly washed earth and pool deck;

at times seeming to come pretty close to the edge from what I can sense and see!

The Coffee is great this morning here

but soon it will just be me

with some great sounds to distract from the traffic!

Patti Labelle; maybe some Emmy Lou Harris

and Willie Nelson;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TD_pSeNelU

along with my thoughts

in the Murano

down through Alligator Alley

and

into Miami to attend

ADEC

(The Association of Death Education & Counseling)

where I will speak and do a book signing

at their annual conference.

Hoping to meet some fantastic folks from around the world during my trip as well.

Staying at the

Intercontinental Plaza

there where you have the lovely option of Valet parking for $34 a night or parking a few blocks away for $10 a night!

Whoopee, what an option that is in Miami!!!

I read with interests the comments of yesterday

which of course peaked my interest

and

yes, of course when I finally did wake up after my sleepless night I felt like I had been hit by a

Northbound Train!

But it did get me to thinking

as sad as it was to relate the story

that one can always count on me

to "keep it real" here

just as I did

in

Healing Heartaches

when sharing the pioneers of hospice

and

the many who do the work of hospice;

there are those who seem to have either

lost their way

or just don't get it.

I still think of that lady who wanted those fake nails

taken off her before dying

and I happen to know the person who had

so graciously agreed in a hot minute

to go to her bedside after working her 40 hours

and

willing to do so on a Friday night

without thought of self,

just to do what was asked

and give a loving hand massage;

possibly hear a story that this woman would have shared

just because the time would have been right

and the person (*who I know intimately*)

would have looked at her with such understanding and grace that the patient would have felt as though sharing with her would have been the greatest and easiest thing in the world to do, if she still could.

These are the special and wonderful gifts that hospice is known for around the country

and have

excelled at throughout the years.

Elisabeth Kubler-Rossm a pioneer and legends of hospice (one of my heroes in hospice)

said this:

 “I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.”

How true are those words in our life, in our work, our professions... In each breath that we take.

Kubler-Ross was the pioneer whose landmark work

"On Death and Dying" gave us stages of grief;

that many have built on throughout the years.

She lived large although a small woman,

she did not take crap from anyone, she knew that we are only here for a finite time, and that those who need care in the end of their lives need us to be present, to care holistically for and about them.

She also said this, and it is one of my most favorite quotes:

 “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

Don't you love that quote?

So as I hit the road today,

I'm wondering,

do you have a hospice story or have you been affected by hospice?

I want to know

and I bet others would want to know as well,

BUT

I don't just want the

"hospice people are angels"

stories!!!

Here we are warriors of truth

and

we keep it real!

Sure I want to know about the wonderful experiences, cos' as you know

I believe in the vision and mission of hospice

along with the fact that there are some

absolutely awesome women and even some men out there doing some fantastic work with those who need hospice and palliative care!

Hospice and Palliative care is for

those who have serious and life threatening illness AND those who love them.

I'm asking you to share your thoughts and your stories for the rest of this week,

TO KEEP IT REAL

whether good or bad

or

a combination of both.

C'mon give it to us here.

I can remember back in the day

when we charted on paper;

when we brought in our family to wash linens in a little house that mercy built that was an inpatient unit on Christmas, and to help sit bedside with a dying patient until their family arrived because we were short staffed!

I remember when a CEO crawled through a window to attend to a patient who had locked herself in the house, and neighbors thought her dead, only to find out she was in there and thought herself pregnant, (she was 87)!

I remember when Dr Josefina Magno

decided that those with breast cancer were treated horribly by fellow physicians so she went to London to see how this thing called hospice was done

and

then decided she must teach physicians how to do things differently and was brilliant

becoming a pioneer in hospice

after her own diagnosis of breast cancer in the early 70's.

I've watched changes, legislation, HIPPA be misunderstood, and things change

not always for the best... but change is the only constant in the world.

I've seen dying patients be taken to the beach just to see a sunset one more time;

arrange weddings so that Mothers can see the son get married, and lift her out of a wheel chair so that she could dance with her husband one more time.

And

I've seen magic in the eyes of little children with old souls

aren't they remarkable?

We sure could learn a lot from them if we would just be still and listen!

So friends,

let me know your thoughts, along with others who visit here!

We know there are many who visit, but don't comment... it shows up in the "stats" that we are read all over the world!

And

Hospice is now serving and caring for folks across the globe,

so

I'm more than certain

many have something to say about their experiences or those of someone they may know... be it great, good, so-so, or not so good.

Let's get "real" and share the stories

and

then you can be sure

I'll educate others

when I'm out there across the country

on ways

that will help and "lessons learned" from the true experts:

YOU

Oh my goodness,

the sage has burned and filled the air, with thoughts on the winds to all!

Sandy and Stuart continue to work daily on their home, the smell of soot is there, ceilings are BLACK, but the work is coming into the light for a couple of rooms and progress is being made.

Sandy is a daily reader of the blog

once she returns home here with

"soot and exhaustion"

but a spirit of resiliency and great humor

they both are warriors!

They both appreciate all the love and kindness extended here by those who are holding them up... we continue to hope and pray for an arrest of the arsonist, and justice to be served.

BUT

I have to tell you, we are family here, and we stick together, through the darkness we find the light, the humor and we know that we will survive anything.

It is remarkable though, once you have been violated you become extremely keen to the comings and goings in your neighborhood.

That is what is called "hyper vigilance"

and

we are all rather amazed at it even now!

><

Also in the prayer bowl

and needing your thoughts:

Little boy Nicholas at St Josephs in Tampa continues to struggle there with his Mom and Grandmom Karen bedside and the brain complications; he is in grave condition at this time.

 Please hold them tenderly

in your thoughts and prayers.

The four leggeds just made a NASCAR run around the pool, but now are giving me the "eye" as they know something is up...

They spied the suitcase last night!

The time is NOW

and

the tank is filled,

time to love on the four-leggeds

and

"hit the road"

Here I come Miami... Ready or NOT!

Walk In Beauty,

DRSES

http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/

You can order your copies of

Healing Heartaches, Stories of Life and Loss

at the website above!

(mention that you are one of our gentle warriors when ordering and receive a special thank you gift from me)

Take best care of you

out there Warriors!