All engagements include a complimentary in-person consultation as well as a complimentary post-passage visit. 

Please do not let finances keep you from accessing the support you need.  Contact us so we can talk through your situation.
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We serve the entire Triangle area: Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Wake Forest, Chapel Hill, Apex, Garner, Knightdale and Zebulon. 
 at no additional charge.  Travel outside of service area can be arranged.  Please contact us for details.

Planning for Your Remaining Days

Diagnosis of a terminal illness brings with it an immediate reshuffling of your priorities, as well as new challenges and concerns.  We will work with you to create a plan to help address the issues that arise after learning your remaining time is limited.

We will meet with you and begin by empowering you and your family by learning everything possible about your illness and how it will affect you. 

​It is our goal to teach you how to recognize end-of-life symptoms in order to treat them, and to improve the quality of your life for your remaining time.  Part of this learning will include helping you plan for a “good death” in which you decide to die on your own terms, in a place of your choosing, and as comfortably as possible.  We will sit down with you and your loved ones to have honest and open discussions.  During our planning, we will also outline all available options, identify your support network, process any necessary paperwork, pre- plan a funeral or memorial service and make the most of the time remaining.

 

 

​We will sit with you and cover - in a straight-forward and interactive way - the information needed to complete Advance Directives, Dementia Directives, Power of Attorney for Healthcare, Last Will & Testament and standard Power of Attorney forms.  We believe this can be done at any stage of your life, not just at the end of life.  While our focus is North Carolina, we are able to locate and assist with forms for all 50 states.  In addition, we have a Notary Public on our team that will provide the required notarization of any documents executed in the home.

 

Advanced Directives 
​Legal Documents

Death is universal and inevitable.  While we cannot control the time and cause of our death, we can influence where and how we are cared for.  We believe that advance directives increase the likelihood your preferences will be respected and your loved ones will be relieved of the burden of making difficult decisions on your behalf.

Medical Advocacy

​We are happy to accompany the patient to a doctor appointment to listen and record information, and assist with the dissemination of information to caregivers and family members.

 

Companionship and
​Respite

​Providing qualified, knowledgeable and compassionate care in the comfort of your own home, or in a facility, is the core service that we provide. 

Companion care is designed to entertain, supervise and provide company. ​

​The time can be used for reading, playing music, talking story, legacy projects or simply being quietly “present.”  It is not uncommon for a caregiver to experience adverse health effects during a prolonged period of caring for a terminally ill loved one.  We can also provide respite care and coverage to allow the caregiver to rest, take a walk, attend to personal needs or appointments.

 

Legacy Planning
Life Review

A Life Review is an important part of bringing one's life to a close.  As life ends, we want to know that we have truly been seen by someone in this world, and that our life has value and meaning.

We can provide a variety of Life Review formats, from written to oral history.  Completing a Life Review can help create a sense of completion with worldly affairs, relationships and meaning about one’s life.  It can help with the acceptance of the finality of our lives.  We can also assist with a Legacy Project to give loved ones something tangible while creating an opportunity for reflection.

 

Digital Legacy

Death in our modern era brings a difficult technical aftermath.  We can act as a technical executor and assist with the digital aspects of your life.

​​We will help by cataloging and preparing accounts for closure.  This would extend to social media accounts as well.  We can set up a single source for all of your passwords using LastPass to eliminate the need for post-it notes, memory or paper.  We can also catalog existing automatic payments using either bank draft or credit cards.

 

Nutrition Counseling

​The role of a nutritionist is to help people achieve optimal health by providing information and advice about health and food choices. 

Our Doula, Joni Porter, is a certified Nutrition Coach.  As a nutritionist, Joni can review your current diet and recommend healthy changes and adjustments to your nutrition. ​

Joni has extensive experience at understanding your unique health issues and concerns, and is able to make recommendations on the right path forward for optimal health.  In addition, she will help you and your caregivers understand how to read food labels to assist you in making wiser decisions at the grocery store.

 

Functional Movement

​Functional movement is any movement done during your daily life such as putting groceries away or pushing a door open -  that requires engaging muscular and skeletal structure to perform. But while these movements are routine, we often take them for granted and develop bad habits.  Functional movement exercises involve full-body motion and engage the stability muscles, which are extremely important in preventing injuries.

Our NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) certified Doula has deep experience with functional movement.  Joni Porter has comprehensive knowledge of human movement science, functional anatomy, physiology and kinesiology, as well as functional assessment and program design. 

As you face the challenges that end-of-life brings, you will be in need of special care in the form of strength and stability work or total body work to engage the stabilizer muscles, which are extremely important in preventing falls and injuries.  This type of work will help both you and your caregiver, and will often help keep the mind clear as well as achieve more quality days of life. 

​Programs are personalized, and can include relaxation breathing techniques, maintenance of the strength and stability you may already have for as long as possible, a variety of balance and core movements, flexibility and yoga.  All of the components of functional movement create better circulation and stimulate cell renewal.  Programs are adjusted as your needs and mobility change.  

 

After Death Guidance
​Funeral Options

​We can assist with disposition choices and outline the various options available to you, as well help protect your rights as a consumer.

​We are not licensed funeral directors.  However, we will support you and your family by offering educational information on the period of time between death and final disposition, such as preparing your loved one’s remains or keeping your loved one in the home for an extended period of time for viewing and/or home burials.  We will work with you to create a plan for after-death care, as families often report a sense of relief when there is a clearly defined plan in place.  We are available to provide support to your family, and are able to guide the family through the care of the body, including washing, dressing, moving (if necessary) and positioning of cooling packs.  

 

Memorial Planning
Remembrance Event
​Living Funeral

​We can help you identify what type of memorial service or life celebration you would like, and provide assistance with the planning and organizing.

​There are many options available to you, including memorial service, funeral service, graveside services, ash scattering, home funeral or memorial, location options and considerations, personalization of the event and/or a living funeral. 

 

Vigil Sitting

​“The scene of death is a sacred space.  The Doula’s job is to protect it.”  - Fersko-Weiss

​We consider it a privilege to be given the opportunity to be with someone who is passing from this world, and experiencing their own unique and private moments.

​Perhaps the patient is alone, or a family member doesn’t want to experience the death by themselves.  We will be with a patient to comfort them, keep them relaxed, unafraid and peaceful until the end.  During the vigil, we will help the family by providing information about the dying process, what to look for and what is going to happen next.  We have found that knowing these things bring a sense of calm.

 

Post Passage Bereavement

​We want to ensure the best possible outcomes for our families after the loss of a loved one.  We will visit you to offer our support and any needed referrals to bereavement services and help provide closure.

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