Tuesday, November 14, 2006
NPR first person account of being a caregiver for the dying and word puzzle answers
For those of you who listen to NPR on the way home, you are often treated to insights into end-of-life issues. I believe that NPR is one of the media outlets that typically focuses on death and dying more than most mainstream media outlets. Well yesterday (Monday 11/13) there was a great story I heard on the way home. It was the story of Adrian Leon LeBlanc (requires Windows Media Player) who died in 2003. The story was narrated by his daughter, writer Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, who had taped some of the conversations as he was dying. The audio story is only under 13 minutes, so find yourself some quiet time and listen to it.
I think you will recognize the role of patient and caregiver in his story. As I listened to the story I recalled some of the patients and families that have impacted me through this work. It is also a good reminder of the powerful relationship between caregiver and patient, and how talking can be an important part of the 'work' that people do as they approach death for themselves and their family members.
2. The answers for the wordgame I posted from last week are in the comments section of this post. That's for those of you who can't help but look immediately for the answers. In case you missed it here was the wordgame:
(More details than the original post)
WORD GAME
Palliate (PAL-ee-ate: To make less severe or intense; alleviate)
Average mark 28 words
Time Limit: 45 minutes
Can you find 42 or more words in PALLIATE?