The Saskatchewan Hospice Palliative Care Association (SHPCA) brought its full-day 'roadshow' workshops to the W.J. Jones & Son Funeral Services reception centre on Nov. 25, giving visitors a chance to discuss death, dying, and end-of-life care in a safe, expert setting.
Facilitator Mary-Anne Parker, an end-of-life doula and the administrative and development co-ordinator for the SHPCA, said she was slightly disappointed with the turnout for the Moose Jaw event, but not for the reasons one might expect.
"I love the small size we have today, it allows for intimate conversations and there's been a ton of sharing," she told the Moose Jaw Express. "I will note that everyone here is on the older side, which is a little disappointing just because I know that discussions on this topic have nothing to do with being older.
"People of all ages have a hunger for these conversations. We just have to find those safe spaces to have them in."
Parker said that her role as an end-of-life doula has been incredibly rewarding, and shown her there is a need for holistic considerations around the process of dying. It has also shown her that anxiety, misunderstanding, and social taboos keep people of all ages, from children to teens to young and middle-aged adults, from having open discussions on the topic.
A doula is a professional who provides advice, guidance, and emotional and physical support to a person during health-related experiences — most commonly at the beginning of life, but also at its end.
"When you're talking about end-of-life, (doulas) can't replace anybody on the palliative care or medical teams. They're all doing wonderful work that they are qualified to do, and that I am not trying to do," Parker explained.
"I'm filling the gaps by providing holistic, encompassing emotional and informational support, and providing social and emotional context for what people are experiencing.
"There's always been a need for a whole interdisciplinary team, which is what we used to see at home before everything became hospitalized. ... In my role, I help people make space for conversations, organize, move forward, normalize death and dying. It really helps them and makes their fear less prevalent, which is why I'm fired up to do what I do."
The discussion on the 25th took participants along those same lines. There was laughter and humour, open sharing of difficult experiences and questions, discovery of common concerns (such as the fear of losing dignity, becoming a burden, or not knowing one's care providers), and answers, suggestions, and strategies resulting from group conversation.
"My purpose for coming here today is that I have a friend who is... passing, and I wanted to learn more about how I can help her and be more comfortable with her dying," said Denise Helland.
"It's exceeded my expectations, I'm learning more about things I should be doing to prepare, even at my age, for the end of life. It's very educational and there's been lots of information.
"After being here, I believe everybody should participate in something like this, because it's a really hard thing to talk about, for everybody, for families and friends. Just need to be here and learn about dying. I've also enjoyed spending time with (Mary-Anne Parker), learning that she's a death doula also is amazing, I just give kudos to them for that and being able to do that."
The event was co-hosted by Heartland Hospice, with board members Amanda Dowling and Della Ferguson there to participate.
Learn more at heartlandhospicemj.ca and saskpalliativecare.org.
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