what does a doula do?

provides frontline advocacy and care

As a certified Sacred Passage Doula, I am a frontline, non-medical caregiver, trained in holistic modalities and offering peace and comfort care to clients and their families during illness, the dying process, and after-care. My mission is to assist with end-of-life planning and legacy reviews, to elevate awareness of the sacred naturalness and human right to die a good and conscious death, provide emotional and spiritual support, create peaceful and pleasing healing environments, and maintain grounded, compassionate advocacy and witness as the process unfolds. A balanced presence increases quality of life moments for all involved. End-of-life doulas fill the 'care -gap' supporting the dying, their families, and coordinating with medical and hospice teams. I remain open, responsive and flexible to change, which is essential in the fully fluid, organic process of dying, loss and grief.

provides consulting & public education

With each breath, with the dawning and setting of each new day, we move closer to the hour of our death. like it or not, this is the nature of life. We become animate with that first breath, share the common experience of human life, and die with the last exhalation. The first is instinctual, without conscious consent. The last breath belongs to us, a precious gift. At the tail-end of our commitment to life, we are offered the freedom of how to navigate that final journey: when, where, how, and with whom we die. Shall we discuss it, shall we arrange and prepare for it, or shall we forfeit this final opportunity to choose?

The first step in this process is to begin those challenging conversations, first with ourselves, and then with our loved ones, about our desire to prepare; to contemplate the reality, and then to put things in place. The truth is our death can come at any time. Ready or not. If we have not made preparations, the end may come hard and fast and be a time of great confusion, shock, and difficult and sudden decision-making. When we come to terms with the biggest truth of our lives: that each of us will die, we allow ourselves to drink in fully, every precious moment of being alive. If you ask people who have been given a terminal diagnosis, what changed for them, most often you hear that after the shock settled in, it was their greatest gift, becoming an opportunity to live each waking moment, with gratitude, wonder, compassion, and deep love.

I offer myself as a Doula Consultant to individuals who need help with planning and those family meetings, for small groups and for public education.  If you're an avid DIY type, you might want to navigate this on your own. I include some general info below, as well as a link to my services and fees here

A few things to consider:
What you want and don't want!
Creating an advance directive (health-care proxy, living will etc.)
Choice of Standard (mortuary) or Traditional (home funeral) after-death care (your legal rights and responsibilities)
Embalming or natural preparations
Cemetery, private, or conservation-land burial
Your memorial service or life celebration
Setting realistic and affordable spending limits

shares information & resources

DIY Resources:
Funeral Consumers Alliance: www.funerals.org
Funeral Consumers Alliance of WNC: www.fcawnc
Life Share of the Carolinas:
Organ/Body/Tissue Donation: www.lifesharecarolinas.org
National Home Funeral Alliance: www.homefuneralalliance.org
Carolina Memorial Sanctuary: https://carolinamemorialsanctuary.org/
Memorial Ecosystems (Ramsey Creek Preserve & Honey Creek Woodlands): www.memorialecosystems.com

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contact me