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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Our Annual Seven Holiday Gifts for Someone Who Is Grieving, 2024 Edition: Gracious gifts that spread love and beauty -
“Making Mobiles” by Karolina Merska: An artist’s manual on how to create beautiful Polish pajaki -
“Hands Up to the Sky” by Michael Franti & Spearhead: A surprisingly upbeat song about acknowledging both loss and the beauty of life
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Categories
Tag Archives: End-of-life care
Music Therapy Can Help Make a Person’s Last Days More Peaceful
Music has healing powers that should not be overlooked
I have always been interested in the benefits of music therapy. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Portia Diwa, who plays the harp for people who are ill, injured or dying. Portia said that one of … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Classical music, End-of-life care, healing music, Hospice, music therapy, Something special, terminal care
1 Comment
The Uneasy Relationship between America’s Life Expectancy and Retirement Age
New data shows Americans are retiring later and dying sooner
There has been an unsettling trend happening in the United States. The retirement age has been steadily increasing, but the last two years have seen a dip in life expectancy for the average adult. This suggests that Baby Boomers and middle-age … Continue reading
Death with Dignity: Lack of Access Biggest Issue
Refusal to participate leaves patients without access to end-of-life options
Twenty years ago, the state of Oregon implemented the nation’s first Death with Dignity Act. This state legislation provided a physician-prescribed, end of life option for terminally ill individuals. In the 20 years following, five other states and the District of … Continue reading
“It’s OK to Die” by Monica Williams-Murphy and Kristian Murphy
Making difficult decisions about end of life care
“It’s OK to Die” was written by Dr. Monica Williams-Murphy, an emergency room physician, and her husband, Kristian Murphy. Dr. Williams-Murphy writes about how difficult it is to treat critically ill people who do not have advance directives. If the … Continue reading
The Messenger: Doctors and End-of-Life Conversations
How can healthcare professionals learn to better communicate about end-of-life issues with terminal patients?
How do you tell someone that they’re dying? Telling someone they have a terminal illness is a regular part of the job for some doctors. Yet, the folks behind the Alive Institute initiative believe that many healthcare professionals aren’t adequately … Continue reading
Polypharmacy During Final Months of Life Can Be Futile
Many older people are prescribed ten-plus medications during their last months of life
A new study published in The American Journal of Medicine finds that older adults often receive numerous medications of questionable benefit in their final months of life. Previous estimates have shown that between 25 and 40 percent of people aged … Continue reading
