How did I Get Here?

A friend once asked me “What is something you can do that others can’t or won’t do?” There are only a few things in my life that I could identify to answer this question. One of those things is my passion to work with individuals and their families at the end of life.

As a nurse for almost four decades, and having worked in the fields of Oncology, OB/Gyn, and, most recently, Hospice, I have dealt with death at the beginning as well as end of life. I have gained expertise and a level of comfort working with people, helping them to understand, plan, talk through and process things that become a priority at this Season of Life.

People who know I’m a Hospice nurse often call me to ask advice on aging parents or loved ones. I am able to help clarify with them criteria for Hospice eligibility as well as provide support and education that can guide them through the phases of the dying process months, weeks, days and hours before death occurs.

I decided to become an End-of-Life Doula after a friend suggested “You should become a death doula.” I had heard of the term doula as related to Birth Coaching but not Death Coaching. Though I had been doing this type of work for friends and family, I did not know there was a profession associated with it. Curiosity led me to investigate this profession where I was introduced to the International End of Life Doula Association. In the Spring of 2021, I enrolled in the Inelda Doula training. Currently I am working on requirements for INDELA certification to further my professional training.