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This year saw the rise of an unlikely travel personality — Driving Miss Norma.
Miss Norma, whose real name is Norma Bauerschmidt, is a 90-year-old woman from Michigan who is currently traveling the United States on an epic cross-country tour.
Two days after Norma's husband of 67 years passed away, doctors told her that she had what could likely be terminal cancer. There were options — surgery followed by months of radiation and chemotherapy, everything you might expect with a cancer diagnosis — or something very different. Norma chose something very different. She chose to hit the open road with her son, daughter-in-law and their two dogs.
Norma's choice is an important lesson for all of us — what might be right for one, may not be right for another. Norma's story is an inspiration and being covered wherever she goes. While some may think, “Well, of course, she's 90,” her story illustrates just how important end-of-life and advance care planning conversations can be.
When we receive a difficult or terminal diagnosis, we naturally gravitate towards discussions of curative treatment and focus primarily on the illness, and that's okay. However, turning our attention to the entire patient, not just the illness, and having conversations about our quality of life, is just as important.
As patients, we look to our doctors to guide us. However, new studies show that physicians are often unprepared to have these conversations. A recent national poll conducted by the John A. Hartford Foundation and California Health Care Foundation shows that while virtually all physicians agree that talking with patients about end-of-life and advance care planning is important, nearly half report sometimes feeling unsure of what to say and less than a third report having had any formal training on speaking with families about end-of-life care.
At our recent “Thresholds Conference” and in the first of a series of community forums, we outlined how to begin these conversations, both from the doctors' point of view, and from the perspective of patients and their loved ones.
Hospice of Southern Maine's community forums being held throughout the rest of the year provide an exceptional educational resource for patients, families, and clinicians alike on the important topic of end-of-life conversations.
Daryl J. Cady, CEO of Hospice of Southern Maine, can be reached at dcady@hospiceofsouthernmaine.org
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Learn moreThe Giving Guide helps nonprofits have the opportunity to showcase and differentiate their organizations so that businesses better understand how they can contribute to a nonprofit’s mission and work.
Work for ME is a workforce development tool to help Maine’s employers target Maine’s emerging workforce. Work for ME highlights each industry, its impact on Maine’s economy, the jobs available to entry-level workers, the training and education needed to get a career started.
Whether you’re a developer, financer, architect, or industry enthusiast, Groundbreaking Maine is crafted to be your go-to source for valuable insights in Maine’s real estate and construction community.
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