Sisters Face Death With Dignity and Reverence »
Posted By Eagle_Eye 6 months ago in ReligionSister Mary Lou Mitchell, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph congregation, visiting Sister Helen Goschke. We approach our living and our dying in the same way, with discernment; Sister Mary Lou said.
“There is a time to die and a way to do that with reverence,” said Sister Mary Lou, 56, a former nurse. “Hospitals should not be meccas for dying. Dying belongs at home, in the community. We built this place with that in mind.”
In the old Mother House, the infirmary was a place apart. Here, everyone mixes. Of the 150 residents, nearly half live in the west wing, designated for independent living, in apartments with raised toilets, grab bars and the like. These are the sisters who have given up paying jobs and shared apartments in the community because of encroaching infirmity.
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Eagle_Eye
I am a female who has lived a complex life with complex situations and have learned a lot from my experiences.
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Eagle_Eye6 months ago
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FTA: "Primary care for most of the ailing sisters is provided by Dr. Robert C. McCann, a geriatrician at the University of Rochester, who says that through a combination of philosophy and happenstance, “they have better deaths than any I’ve ever seen.”
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"Dr. McCann said that the sisters’ religious faith insulated them from existential suffering — the “Why me?” refrain commonly heard among those without a belief in an afterlife. Absent that anxiety and fear, Dr. McCann said, there is less pain, less depression, and thus the sisters require only one-third the amount of narcotics he uses to manage end-of-life symptoms among hospitalized patients."
Their faith gives them a good death, I find this very interesting. -
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sprzats6 months ago
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This was an interesting read. Years ago I worked in a few local nursing homes. I saw many folks die alone and to say that it was sad would be a huge understatement. At one point I got a job in the infirmary of one of the mother houses. I can honestly say that the nuns took very good care of their own and the whole attitude towards dying was not of fear but a calm acceptance. It was a good experience and I drew a lot from it when my mother was dying. Thanks for the submission Eagle_Eye.
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