Word waterfalls carry me
where I need to flow
in the lure of language.
Fulfillment comes when
the soul of one reader soaks
in wondrous waves of truth.
Frances Shani Parker
The following stories linking to Frances Shani Parker's Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog include excerpts from her book:
1) Nursing Home Hospice Chaplain Provides Death Ritual for Resident
https://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2017/06/hospice-staff-volunteers-cope-with.html
2) Resident with Alzheimer's Dementia Copes with Grief
https://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2010/08/dementia-alzheimers-hospice-story.html
3) Service-Learning Intergenerational Partnerships Between Schools and Nursing Homes (also includes link to our fourth-graders' nationally recognized research on ageism stereotypes about older adults)
https://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2007/07/service-learning-and-nursing-homes.html
You can hear Frances Shani Parker read the Alzheimer's dementia poem below on this YouTube video with over 24,000 views.
Poem: Pieces of Our Minds
On the border, on the brink,
we shiver like quivering tears
swollen to fullness with distress,
reluctant to spill an excess.
Strapped in delusions
wondrous and weird, we ride
roller coasters of reality
through joy and fear.
On the brim, on the rim,
like balls circling in frustration,
we scramble for thoughts
lost in nets of uncertainty.
Invaded by memories,
peeping, creeping, weeping,
we laugh and cry to the
rhythm of nostalgia.
On the fringe, on the edge,
changing, adjusting, impacting,
we crave compassion in our
search for society’s sanctuary.
Frances Shani Parker
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1) Accept death as part of life.
2) Listen to the universe.
3) Expect rainbow smiles.
4) Live a healthy lifestyle.
5) Be informed and proactive.
6) Do your best.
7) Give service to others.
8) Be grateful for blessings.
9) Put death wishes in writing.
10) Have a dignified death journey.
Frances Shani Parker
Visit the website below to read
Ten Steps to Hospice Volunteer Success.
Copyright 2013 Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes. All rights reserved.