SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS as time goes by.. Grief is tiring and it is up and down. I have had a busy two weeks since Connie passed, what with arranging estate stuff for Continue Reading →
Author Archives: heilandrich1
The Dementia Journey continues, but alone and with new experiences
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THE DEMENTIA JOURNEY has ended, in a physical sense, but in a literal sense I don’t know that it ever will. It will stay with me in my mind. It may fade Continue Reading →
Connie’s journey ended at 1:30 this morning, peacefully and I was with her
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CONNIE’S JOURNEY ended peacefully this morning, April 19, 2026 at around 1:30 a.m. I had a feeling yesterday evening so stayed at the memory care unit in the recliner next to Continue Reading →
If “I love you” was her good-bye, I will take it and treasure it
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“MAYBE THREE days,” the hospice nurse said. Connie’s vitals have started to drop and her breathing is changing. She has not eaten anything for three days and in the days before Continue Reading →
A Vignette
Waiting. What to say? How to wait on the death of the loved one doesn’t come with a handbook. Some tips maybe, a bit of advice but in the end, Continue Reading →
A soft voice singing into Connie’s ear and gentle hands easing her pain – I wish I really had understood what hospice could bring to us sooner than I did
https://youtube.com/shorts/bnh5aNnCvLc I COULD HEAR Julia singing before I got to Connie’s unit. The soft and light voice, the strumming of the guitar. Julie comes once a week to sign to Connie, Continue Reading →
“Lingering” – A word I don’t much like right now as we wait for Death to come
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LINGERING: To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually. It is a word I have come to hate as I sit by Connie’s bed Continue Reading →
A Vignette
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When death’s coming gives you time there are things you can do, plans you can make that will help give you peace when it is over.. THERE ARE THINGS to do Continue Reading →
We knew the end would come and good-byes would have to be said, permission to go given but that doesn’t make it easy
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Our hospice nurses have told us Connie is transitioning and the end most likely is near and good-byes are so, so hard DO YOU WANT to stay, I asked Connie last Continue Reading →
The move into memory care? It’s complicated and the best thing friends and family can do is be supportive
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A FRIEND’S BROTHER is in memory care and he recently visited him for the first time. His impression? “I wondered why he was in there. He carried on a perfectly normal Continue Reading →