Shelley Shepard 2/12/26 Shelley Shepard 2/12/26

Old Age is Not for Sissies

Back and forth he went from hospital to rehab, rehab to hospital. All the while he kept asking to go home. It was a grueling cycle that proved being a patient in the modern medical system is not for the faint of heart.

Shelley Shepard 4/15/23 Shelley Shepard 4/15/23

Thirty Nine Years and One Day

Mom was a widow at 38 with four daughters to raise and no emotional support. When mom expressed sadness about dad’s death she was told she just needed to get over it. Grief was not as well understood nor a topic of discussion back then.

Shelley Shepard 2/26/23 Shelley Shepard 2/26/23

What Does Dying Mean to a Five Year Old?

At five years old I had no concept of death. When I saw my dad laying in his casket at the funeral home I thought he was sleeping. I didn’t realize it was permanent. I ran around the casket thinking it was a game we were playing; pulling myself up on tiptoes to look in at him and wondering why his face was frozen.

Shelley Shepard 2/24/23 Shelley Shepard 2/24/23

My Journey to Become an End of Life Doula

My journey to become an end of life doula as well as a hospice nurse began after Christmas 1995 when my grandpa found out he had metastatic lung cancer with a grim prognosis.