She sat beside the bed, tears brimming. ‘Mum’s dying.’ ‘Yes.’ We sat in silence for a bit. ‘I’ve lost my faith.’ ‘Uh huh.’ ‘When my friend died.’ ‘Mm.’ We held hands and Mum’s too, wondering in our own ways, about…
Category: Spirituality in Health
I used to love the story of Little Red Riding Hood. There was something deliciously appealing about getting dressed up in an elegant red cape and sauntering off into the world alone. Grandma turning into the wolf didn’t bother me,…
Midwifing death is as important to the dying process as pain relief. For me, it’s walking slowly beside another person as they disengage from their dwindling life force and listening intently to the stories of their life. Stories can tumble…
Sometimes truth is so hard to stomach that even though it stares you in the face and shouts itself hoarse trying to be heard we remain oblivious to its presence. This may be because the emerging truth demands much of…
Warm and fuzzy media headlines are the order of the day when Police dogs or All Blacks visit hospital patients. Try introducing a trial of natural therapies like Whanganui District Health Board is doing and the headlines become accusatory and…
‘Look’, he said, waving a scrap of paper in front of me, ‘the doctor’s been and this is what he thinks I’ve got.’ The phrase on the page was vaguely familiar but before I could begin untangling the words he…