WELCOME TO OUR BLOG
Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
FEATURED
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“Prayer” by Lizzie West: Singer-songwriter reminds us that our loved ones live on in the sun and rain -
Rutgers Health Study May Improve End-of-Life Care: Medicare data analysis finds that people typically follow one of nine paths -
Mary Oliver’s “Heavy” Speaks to the Weight of Grief: The poet eloquently conveys the dizzying effect of loss
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Categories
Category Archives: So, You Got the News
Children with Cancer Teach Us What the Holidays Are About
On the pediatric oncology unit, everyone knows that the only gift that matters is love
Many years ago, I worked as a nurse caring for children with cancer. And when I told people what I did for a living, their response was inevitably something along the lines of “Oh, that’s so sad! How can you … Continue reading
A Chance to Make Memories
After the roller coaster of emotions slows down, there is time to decide how you want to be remembered
It could be argued that there is no upside to learning that you have a terminal illness. Coming face to face with your own mortality is terrifying and disorienting. And while it’s an experience that each one of us will … Continue reading
What is Anticipatory Grief?
People living with terminal illness face grief and loss long before death occurs
When Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross released her seminal book, “On Death and Dying” in 1969, she based her writings on the experiences of people who were facing certain death. Through a series of interviews and conversations with terminally ill children … Continue reading
You Don’t Need to be Brave
A cancer survivor reminds us that courage is no protection against terminal illness
I just read a wonderful story in the July 21, 2017, issue of Time. Written by cancer survivor Josh Friedman, it’s about an ordinary man who got a cancer diagnosis and didn’t take it particularly well. In fact, his behavior … Continue reading
The Endless Waiting of End Stage Renal Disease
Thousands of people are living on borrowed time awaiting a kidney transplant
End stage renal disease is the medical term for kidney failure, a condition that happens when the kidneys are no longer able to filter excess fluid and waste products from the blood. Untreated kidney failure is uniformly fatal. Other than … Continue reading
Guilt and Shame at the End of Life
Living with a life-limiting illness can be much harder when you blame yourself
Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh. ~ Henry David Thoreau Joe sat in his living … Continue reading
