May I weave peace.
Dr. Michael Kearney
Dr. Michael Kearney is a palliative care physician in Santa Barbara who taught me the gentle language of palliative care. I am grateful to have had time to learn from he and the inpatient palliative care team at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Take a listen to his Zoom recording about his new book, Becoming Forest, available as of 10/3/23: Becoming Forest
Excerpts:
p.150 “Suffering is the kind of psychological or spiritual anguish that can’t simply be taken away. For example, we can’t take away the suffering of someone who is grieving in the same way we can, let’s say, a headache. And yet, he says, that doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference.”
p. 152 “If a person feels cared for, they’re no longer suffering in isolation. The pain may still be there, but now it’s being held in togetherness, and that makes all the difference.”
Mettle Health
Mettle Health has a similar goal to my own, which is to fill in gaps in the health care system with softness and extra support for people facing serious diagnoses and the end of life. Mettle Health was founded by Dr. BJ Miller, who I know also shares Dr. Kearney as one of his mentors after learning from him in Santa Barbara.
Learn more about Mettle Health here: Mettle Health Website
Recordings of past Mettle Health conversations on YouTube: Mettle Health Conversations
EndWell Symposium
End Well is a non-profit organization founded by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider with the goal of helping all people experience an end of life that is in alignment with their values and goals. I recently attended the EndWell symposium in Los Angeles on November 16, 2023 and learned from some of the best minds and storytellers in end of life care. See my instagram page @lindsay.nestcare for further reflections on the event.
Learn more here: Recompose
See symposium details here: EndWell Symposium
Final Touch Training
While working as a hospice nurse, I had a patient whose primary request each visit was for a massage. Gentle touch is care I often provide for people, so I was so looking forward to adding new massage techniques to my care after attending the 3 day Final Touch- Skills for End of Life Massage training in January 2024 and the training really exceeded my expectations. I met my mom, who is a massage therapist in PA, in Dallas and we learned from Cindy Spence and Susan Gee how to provide slow, soft massage for people with fragile bodies, serious illness or those close to the end of life. The training felt really natural to me. I look forward to sharing what I learned with my community.
Website: Final Touch
Going with Grace
I completed my end-of-life doula training through Alua Arthur’s Going with Grace program. I recommend the Going with Grace program for anyone interested in completing a death doula training and so appreciate Alua’s core question, “What must I do to be at peace with myself so I may live presently and die gracefully?”
Learn more here: Going with Grace Website
Nursing
I have been a nurse since 2016, when I graduated from Northeastern University in Boston after completing their 5 year co-op program which allowed me to work at MGH, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Hospital Nacional de Ninos in Costa Rica and a clinic in Peru while obtaining my BSN degree. I then worked in hospitals in Philadelphia as a neurology, ENT, and bone marrow transplant nurse. I have been interested in palliative care since nursing school and after a short travel nursing job in oncology in Oregon, found myself in my dream job as a palliative care nurse at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital just at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am a certified hospice and palliative care nurse with experience working as both a palliative and hospice nurse case manager. I am now living in Carlsbad, CA with my partner and near family hoping to share what I have learned by taking care of my community here as a nurse, doula and medical advocate. I am grateful to all of my past professors, mentors, patients and their families - they have made me a softer, wiser version of myself.