The following poem was written by Kate Vredvoogd while being present with and sitting at the bedside of her beloved father, Bruce Vredvoogd, during his 11 day VSED process. Kate is a writer, photographer and teacher of the English language. Her website is www.wanderlustwords.com. My dad is the trickster, the quiet careful listenerwho hears the …
By Andrea Fenwick One of the things that I learned from being a hospice volunteer is that hearing is the last sense that we lose before we die. Even after someone has died, speaking words of kindness, love, and peace offer comfort to those still living; and singing can soothe and bring a sense of …
Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) is becoming a more recognized end-of-life choice, and more patients are choosing to hasten their death by stopping eating and drinking. Typically, they make this choice when they feel that their body is so severely compromised that their quality of life is no longer acceptable. Many patients, afraid of …
Is a VSED Webinar in conflict with PeaceHealth’s ethical policies? Not really. Read More »
Death Doula, Social Worker, and Hospice Volunteer My desire to support people in end-of-life choices and to work in this field originates from the experience of my mother’s death to ovarian cancer when I was 15 and she was just 39. This experience was shrouded in isolation with no one speaking about the “elephant in …
Co-founder of VSED Resources Northwest and Dementia Support Northwest In May of 2019, two friends whose husbands had recently died, a death doula who had worked with our family, and I gathered to talk about VSED. We decided that it was important to get word out that there was a compassionate end-of-life option for people …
RN, Death Doula, and Co-Founder & Coordinator of VSED Resources Northwest Years ago, as a returning Peace Corps Volunteer, I applied to nursing school envisioning my life calling as a midwife. A self-proclaimed feminist, I was sure that women’s roles would drastically change during my lifetime, but that pregnancy and childbearing and reproductive choices would …
A new end-of-life planning video from Compassion & Choices came out this month, and we wanted to share it. From the video description: “This year people all over the world have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, experiencing isolation, economic challenges, losing loved ones and so much more. This year has also shone a brighter …
Hi. I’m Kate, daughter of Jane, who is the reason I’m here in more ways than one–“here” as in the world, but also “here” working with VSED Resources Northwest. My mom, with the support of most of our family, chose to end her life on her own terms in February 2020 by voluntarily stopping eating …
