“Mind & Body”
by
Barbara Joseph, RN, MFT

HELLO…

Mind...what does this mean? I am a therapist. I work with people who have life threatening illnesses. They come to me because they are fearful, overwhelmed and perhaps uninformed about what to do when faced with illness. For example, I had a client named John, who was an attorney in a very successful law firm. Living with HIV he was having difficulty maintaining his health and continuing his career as an attorney.

It was my job to help him through dealing with all the medications he had to take, maintaining wellness and his career as an attorney. We talked. In talking we figured out how he could have the life balance he needed. He was my client for two years. In that time his life's goals changed. Today he is no longer an attorney but a successful developer. His HIV is under control and he is enjoying life.

Body...as a Registered Nurse for 30 years I dealt, intimately with people's bodies. There can be great changes in ones' body during illness and the dying process. While working in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at a large metropolitan hospital, Mary, an elderly woman, with severe heart problems, was experiencing heart failure. That means her heart was not pumping enough blood. She went from being a vibrant self-sufficient woman to someone who no longer could physically take care of herself as she became weaker and weaker.

I bathed her, helped her to the bathroom, put on her nightgown and combed her hair. I also supervised her medication and monitored the electronic gear. But most of all I wanted her to have her dignity...and I did that by combing her hair, helping her to the bathroom, bathing her...all of life's details. Mary died peacefully in ICU surrounded by her family and friends, smelling and looking good!

Feel free to email me your questions...after all...that is what I do. Help people find answers.

Email your questions/comments to: Barbara@the-ddic.com