My Dad's Approaching Death

My father is dying. He contracted mesothelioma during his early years as an electrician, crawling around in tight spaces stirring up the asbestos insulation that was common during the Fifties and Sixties. If you'd like to read more about my Dad, go check out my first blog on MSN Spaces. (I've grown a bit, in the internet sense, since I started this blog a few months ago. : )

A friend pointed me in the direction Nurse Pam's blog. I'm glad she did because Nurse Pam posted a wonderful entry the other day which happened to be very timely for me:

21st Century Lesbian Trailer Trash: Pain and Grief in America

I am fortunate that I work in healthcare, with people who aren't unfamiliar with death. Death isn't our friend but most of us understand how to face it, how to make it easier and are not nearly as fearful of it as the average American. My Mom works in a county social service agency. She doesn't have nearly the kind of understanding support I am blessed with. It makes a difference.

I called my dentist's office this morning to cancel my cleaning appointment for Monday because I have no idea what any day will bring in the near future. The receptionist had just gone through the same thing with her mother, who died at home less than a week after hospice care was initiated. I don't think my Dad's going to make it much longer than that either.

It makes such a difference to have a conversation about the death (past or future) of a loved one with someone who doesn't fear it. What a shame we, as a culture, have so removed ourselves from death. We ignore it because of our fear and death and the dying suffer as a result.

I'm glad I know people who aren't afraid to talk about it or to open their hearts to someone who's about to experience death.

Now I'm just rambling so I really should head out onto the icy roads to get my day going. Once again, thanks to Nurse Pam, who I've never met, for allowing links to her blog. I hope others will read it and become less afraid.