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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Final Messages of the Dying: Finding meaning in metaphors and symbolic language -
Will I Die in Pain?: For patients living with a terminal illness, the fear of pain is very real -
When A Child Has A Terminal Illness: Reflections on a short, full life, part two
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Categories
Tag Archives: End-of-life care
What is the Sacred Dying Foundation? An Interview with Megory Anderson
Bringing sacredness and a spiritual element to the end-of-life experience
Megory Anderson is the founder of the Sacred Dying Foundation, an organization designed to bring sacredness and a spiritual element to the end-of-life experience. She is a theologian, educator, liturgist and author of the books Sacred Dying: Creating Rituals for … Continue reading
San Francisco’s Zen Hospice Has Closed Its Doors
After 30 years, the hospice has succumbed to budget woes
One of San Francisco’s oldest and most revered inpatient hospices closed its doors this month. Already, the old Victorian building on Page Street that housed the Zen Hospice Project is empty and bare. The furniture is gone, the floors are … Continue reading
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
