Caring for the Dying, Part 3 (Preparing for the Inevitable #32)

The Bible says in 1 John 5:12: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
 
The featured quote for this episode is from Sean Mangan. He said, "Life is too short when you think of the length of death."

Our topic for today is titled "Caring for the Dying, Part 3" from the book, "The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come" by Rob Moll. 

We continue with the story of Katherine Jefferson and her brother, Bob, who came down with cancer and later died.
 
Katharine and Paul made plans to head to Florida and stay with Bob until he died. “I just felt that I had to be there when he died,” Katharine said. Thirty years ago Katharine’s mother had died in the hospital. Nurses discovered her fallen on the floor. Katharine not only felt terrible for not being there for her mother, she was also saddened to have missed an opportunity to spend invaluable time with her. “There wasn’t hospice then,” Katharine said. Her dad had also died while Katharine was away, and she didn’t want to lose this chance to be with her brother. The day they arrived, Katharine and Paul chatted with Bob while he was awake. But “that was the last clear conversation we had,” Paul said. “He just slid right down after that.” 

Other family members arrived as well. Of Bob’s six brothers and sisters, three siblings and two in-laws along with two of his three daughters came to be with him while he died. One sister, a nurse, showed Katharine and Cindy how to make the bed while Bob was in it. Together they fumbled through changing sheets while he lay in his hospital bed. Katharine stepped in to help with caring for her brother. ...