“A lot of what grievers don’t know is they may have a broken heart. But they are not broken themselves.”
This week I have breakfast with Wendy Sloneker. Wendy is an End of Life Doula and an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist. She is based in Seattle and serves clients internationally. In this episode, Wendy talks about the various roles and functions of an End of Life doula during the passing of a loved one. I love Wendy’s indomitable spirit and she is undoubtedly one of the most uplifting people I have met in a very long time.
I met Wendy shortly after my father passed away unexpectedly from what we thought was a routine visit to the hospital for food poisoning. A few weeks after his admission, he passed away from complications caused by a still unidentified infection. Although my father received excellent medical care from the team of doctors and nurses that were caring for him, we received very little in the form of emotional support other than from chaplain services. And while the chaplain did provide support to my mother who is a devout Catholic, I did not feel their interventions where helpful to me. Fortunately, I had the support of my own family, siblings and close friends to lean on during that very emotional time. In retrospect, I feel that having the support of a person like Wendy during that time would have made a huge impact in how we navigated that very difficult time.
To learn more about Wendy go to: https://www.wendysloneker.com
To learn more about her Heart Healing from Loss program go to: https://www.hearthealingfromloss.com
PS. As I write this post, I realize that I am still grieving my father’s passing. He was the partriach of my family and we all feel his absence everyday. I miss him a great deal and try to honor him in some small way everyday. Miss you dad.