Author Archives: dgermann

About dgermann

Elder Caring Lawyer

A special couple

Posted on June 11, 2012 by dgermann

  In 1998 I was attending a continuing legal education seminar in Indianapolis, and it was the first time I had been downtown since the new Center City Mall had opened, so I decided to go there for lunch.   … Continue reading →

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When the end of life conversation is difficult

Posted on June 10, 2012 by dgermann

Sometimes, the end of life conversation is difficult because we do not know what options are open to us, when we might say enough, about what subjects we might converse. :- Doug.

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O Elder!

Posted on June 8, 2012 by dgermann

O Elder! You generate centuries! You generate me! You generate us! :- Doug.

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A pearl upon a strand

Posted on June 7, 2012 by dgermann

Consider what might be a God’s-eye view of our lives and our families: a pearl upon a strand. Can we see death as a chapter, not an ending? There is one life, and it lives on. :- Doug.

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Your birth and death are prelude

Posted on June 7, 2012 by dgermann

Your birth and death are each prelude to what happens next—for your family, for our tribe, for humanity. :- Doug.

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Not a beginning nor ending

Posted on June 6, 2012 by dgermann

For the family, birth or death of one of its members is a chapter, an event to be marked, yet not a beginning nor ending. Something is lost and something gained: through all, the whole grows. How does your family … Continue reading →

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How much caring is there?

Posted on June 6, 2012 by dgermann

There are tragedies out there in health care. In a world that says it is about care, how much caring is there? :- Doug.

Posted in Caring, Emergency/Crisis Medical | Leave a comment

Have you had the end of life conversation?

Posted on June 5, 2012 by dgermann

Have you had the end of life conversation? If not, when? How will you begin? Whom do you love enough to have the conversation? Whom among your clients and patients do you love enough to help get this conversation started? … Continue reading →

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We enact family

Posted on June 5, 2012 by dgermann

Breathing together, we enact family, we enact together. Breathing together, we learn the other person, we enter their inside, their way of thinking, being and feeling. Breathing together, we realize that we are one, that even if we don’t think … Continue reading →

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Love around the death bed

Posted on June 4, 2012 by dgermann

Let us speak of going beyond living in a “normal” (actually subdued, greyed-over) community, where everybody is marching toward the grave with as little pain as possible. Let us speak of having the pain, having the ecstasy, having the full … Continue reading →

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A memory box

Posted on June 4, 2012 by dgermann

A memory box can be a way to start the conversation: here are some pictures, some ribbons, some pressed flowers; here are some documents; here is what I want…. :- Doug.

Posted in Conversation, Death and living while dying, Emergency/Crisis Medical | Leave a comment

If death were not for keeps

Posted on June 3, 2012 by dgermann

What if we did not see death as for keeps, but as a chapter, a pearl on a continuing string? The family, the tribe, the story goes forward. Someone is born, and destined to change the drama. Someone dies and … Continue reading →

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A family in medical crisis

Posted on June 2, 2012 by dgermann

Say you have a family with a medical crisis. Consider the scenarios that could happen here. Consider more than one. There are always more than one good choice. Open some conversation, engage them in what is possible, not just now, … Continue reading →

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Gentle and kind and respecting….

Posted on June 1, 2012 by dgermann

How can I make sure I get end of life treatment that is gentle and kind and respects my wishes? :- Doug.

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First years, last years

Posted on May 30, 2012 by dgermann

What’s the same for first years and last are soft food, help with walking, incontinence. Might a difference be in our rhythms? Infants are constantly going, their arms and legs and faces a continual moving picture. Oldsters seem to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Death and living while dying, Eldering | Leave a comment

Your question as an act of service

Posted on May 29, 2012 by dgermann

What is the most profound question you could ask yourself as you think about end of life? How is that an act of service? :- Doug.

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The last three days:

Posted on May 29, 2012 by dgermann

The last three days: Who is there? What is the work you are doing? Is it all about you, or are you eldering your children and grandchildren? :- Doug.

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