Susan Anderson and her husband Russell were expecting a baby and building a house when Russell was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Right in the middle of what was to be a new stage of life, the Andersons had to start talking about death.
"It can be more painful to think about the death of someone we love than the death of ourselves," said Kim Goodwin, coordinator of Duluth's End of Life Coalition.
What this new coalition strives to do is break taboos surrounding death and end of life care, and generate communication instead, said Dr. Jonathan Sande, a Duluth oncologist and member of the coalition.
Sande assisted the Andersons during and after Russell's battle with cancer.
Susan Anderson said after Russell died almost a year ago, she found herself not only grieving for her husband, but also for the loss of relationships built with health care providers that had taken care of her family.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sande is one of many coalition members who work in the health care field. But there are also coalition members working in finances, funeral home services and the spiritual community.
The varied professionals are hoping to create a resource of information on everything from families having "kitchen table talks" to drawing up a will.
"It would've been great to have all of the resources under one roof," said Anderson, who was able to have most of her questions about end of life preparation answered, but in an "all over the place" kind of way.
She had to learn to deal with insurance companies, funeral services, medical bills, grief counseling, raise her grieving children and figure out her job all at the same time.
"Death is going to happen to every one -- and that is why the coalition is important," Anderson said.
With the intention of informing the public about the coalition and its resources, two meetings are being held this spring.
The first is on March 10, at the Holiday Inn on Superior Street. The End of Life Coalition has invited the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging to present forums on suffering, ethics, spiritual topics, communication and grief.
The next meeting, which is a public forum, will be at 6:30 p.m. May 10, at First Lutheran Church, 1100 E. Superior St.
ADVERTISEMENT
Like the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, Duluth's End of Life Coalition will discuss five different sub-groups -- communicating about death, CPR and advance directive, grief support and caring conversations, hospice/palliative care and pain management and preplanning.
"We must raise the level of consciousness and start thinking about all of these things before they become a crisis," said financial director and coalition member Bill Zelen. "An informed decision in a time of crisis is a gift."
To find out what to include in the coalition's resources, focus groups from all walks of life were consulted: labor workers, clergy, Chamber of Commerce and minorities.
The coalition found that it would take some time to get people talking, but instead of forcing the conversations it would make the information as accessible as possible.
The coalition said it would eventually like to see end of life care and conversations be a part of living -- not dying.
To reach the Greater Duluth End of Life Coalition, call 249-6970. From there, your call will be directed to an expert who can best answer your question.
