Coming to terms with a loved one’s diagnosis—especially when it’s a parent—can be a difficult thing.
You try to do what’s best for the person while also listening carefully to their wishes. You stand up to help them reach what they’re grasping for, be it treatment, for someone to listen, or something off the shelf.
But sometimes what’s “right” isn’t easy to discern. And fulfilling the wishes of a family member (especially one facing death) can become a complicated path.
In this video, Adam Bauer, a traveling kirtan singer, coach, consultant, and founder of Dharma Boutique, opens up about his life and shares his story about his mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, her quality of life, and her stated desire for a dignified death.
“The kind and compassionate thing isn’t always what looks like the obvious thing to do.”
Postscript: Adam has shared with us that his mother “ultimately died a dignified death of her own choosing, surrounded by loving family, in August 2014.”
Find more Wanderlust Storytelling videos here.
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Accompanying text by Caitlin Berens
Video shot and edited by Edward Boyce