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Hospice Austin’s Blog
Being Brave: The Courage to Let It Go
By the time Bill and I had been in Mexico for several months we were finding our groove. We knew how to pick out the café’s and market stalls that had the best food; we had figured out how and when to haggle for a deal; we were getting the hang of hand-washing our clothes; we had learned how to cut each other’s hair; we were navigating transportation and money pretty well; our Spanish was improving daily; and we knew to always, always carry our own toilet paper.
Being Brave: The Courage to Relax
After a full summer spent volunteering on the border of South Texas, Bill and I set off, bicycles in tow, into Mexico.
Nourishing Body and Soul
The Vargas family wanted to do something special for the patients, family and staff at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House after their father died here in March 2011. In 2012, they brought flower arrangements for all our patients. This year, in honor of their father’s birthday, they cooked a delicious Mexican meal. As an added bonus, it started snowing!
Our current families appreciated not having to go out anywhere to find food, and the Vargas family said they loved it because they got snowed in when their father was here.
Being Brave: The Courage to Fail
The day had arrived that we had anticipated for so long. We loaded our new canary yellow Fisher mountain bikes in the back of a borrowed pickup truck and mom drove us to the outskirts of Austin. She parked under a shade tree in front of a little country church and waited with us while Bill and I (but mostly Bill) began the arduous task of loading our back packs and pannier bags onto the bikes. Mom and I made nervous conversation and I chewed on my cuticles.
Being Brave: The Courage to Begin
It was my favorite kind of Central Texas evening. Early April, the oppressive summer heat hadn’t yet descended upon us and the air was warm, the breeze gentle. It was just right for shorts and bare feet. The kind of evening that invites a slowing down, a deeper breath. I stepped out onto my mom’s front porch to listen to the mockingbirds sing, wiggle my toes in the cool, green grass and reflect upon the life-changing adventure Bill and I were about to embark upon.
A Sense of Well-Being
“On a scale from 1 – 10, rate your general sense of well-being.” Dr. Bob Friedman, the chief medical officer for CTPCA – Central Texas Palliative Care Associates – looked at my brother-in-law expectantly.
Surviving the Holidays
With good reason, holiday seasons are among the most emotionally difficult times for people who have experienced the death of a loved one. Holidays may be difficult no matter what you try to do or where you go. Be gentle with yourself. Below are some tips that may help.
Doorways to the Soul: Accepting What Is
Several months before my father died everything began to go wrong with his body. First one thing and then another. Even though, at that point in my life, I had spent some time as a chaplain intern for a large trauma center and had been around people as they were dying, I was too close to my own situation to be able to see what was actually happening.
Doorways to the Soul: The Present Moment
It was a thing of beauty; aquamarine and silver with white streamers on the handlebars. My very first bike. I was six years old and had watched with longing for several years as my two older brothers tore around the neighborhood on their big red bicycles. Now was my time. I could feel it.
Hospice Austin Volunteers: A Brilliant Tapestry of Love
Last week at a Hospice Austin Volunteer Forum (an educational event held quarterly for our volunteers), about 20 of us were having a wonderful conversation with one of our doctors about the physician’s role on the Hospice Austin team when a visitor to the group raised...
