Dying to Tell You

"In this line of work, you can't see death as failure. But in this case…very much felt like a failure. I hadn’t controlled his pain.”
A brief note of caution: as the title suggests, this episode contains a story involving death by suicide.
Dr. Laura Kennedy, a palliative care physician, shares a tragic story with Cody from early in her practice—an experience that was, in her own words, "devastating." What she learned from it was that sometimes the established and careful route of treatment might not always be best for every patient.
And that even when you think you've failed, it's ok to forgive yourself, learn, and move forward.
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.
Watch the full series here.
Listen to Seasons One and Two of Dying To Tell You anywhere you get your podcasts.
And if you'd like to be a guest on the show or know someone you'd recommend, please reach out to us at https://dttypodcast.com/share

This week, we check back in with former guest and irrepressible force Deanna! A few weeks back, we drove up to Casper, WY to meet Deanna in person for the first time. And during our lovely visit, we all decided it was time for a public update on Deanna, who was diagnosed with ALS at the start of 2024. 
Deanna has moved to in-patient hospice in recent months and, along with her husband Oren, wanted to share her experience with us and the world. Her take on the emotional and physical benefits of in-patient hospice is truly eye-opening.
Deanna, her friends, and her family are incredibly grateful that hospice allows her friends and family to—in a phrase we heard repeatedly—just love on her. Not physically care for her. Not worry about her meds. Not be on call to handle all of the challenging aspects of end-of-life care. Just...love on her. 
Unbeknownst to Deanna, we also had a special surprise for her waiting in the wings. And it's honestly best to see it happen...so even if you listen to this full episode as usual, swing on over to our channel on YouTube to watch the surprise happen.
And please check out Deanna's book "Embracing the End: Discovering Peace and Purpose At the End of Life" now available for sale on Amazon. It's a great, hilarious, and heart-lifting read. Because of course it is. 

One question opened up a world of understanding for Dr. Andy Robinson early in his career: "What do you feel we should know that we don't?"
It was asked by social worker to a reticent patient, who then exclaimed how nobody knew who we WAS; they only knew who he is now...a patient who was dying.
This question and the response it created has stuck with Dr. Andy over the decades and underscored the importance of finding out not just what a patient has, but who they are.
Dr. Andy has been an immensely important friend of the podcast, referring several of his patients as guests on the show, and we are deeply indebted to his kindness, understanding, and shared purpose of doing whatever he can to help others, especially at the end of life.
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.
Watch the full series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiI_iRTJzpE&list=PL6bIkZBcQvNH74IKCjIrRR_jCzZtS7WNw&pp=gAQB
And listen to Seasons One and Two of Dying To Tell You anywhere you get your podcasts. https://dttypodcast.com/
 

Sometimes fixing the problem right in front of us creates harm down the road, especially in healthcare and with patients who are facing the end of life.
Physician's Assistant Ryan English joins Cody this week on Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective to share the story of a patient that inspired him to get into palliative care, a patient whose situation presented the challenging decision to forego surgery to address an immediate concern in exchange for better quality of life as they faced their final days. 
Cody and Ryan also talk about the rewarding joys of being palliative care professionals, and the very expensive question of "Tell me more about that." 
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.

Healthcare educator, social media influencer, and good friend of the podcast Hospice Nurse Julie shares the formative story of a patient who changed her perspective forever.
Working in the ICU as a young nurse, Julie started to see a pattern that disturbed her, an unwillingness at times to help patients and their families face what seemed inevitable to everyone on the healthcare staff but was never said out loud—that sometimes prolonging life isn't the best answer.
One patient in particular brought Julie to a tipping point, when she finally spoke up.
Join Cody for this beautiful conversation with @hospicenursejulie on how healthcare professionals can most compassionately help patients and their loved ones at the end of life, even when it's incredibly difficult.
Be sure to check out Julie's New York Times bestselling book "Nothing To Fear: Demystifying Death To Live More Fully" available wherever you buy books. And you can now pre-order her upcoming workbook "The Nothing to Fear Journal: Questions and Reflections for Demystifying and Preparing for the End of Life," an incredible resource for anyone...literally anyone, because we're all going to end up there eventually.
More information at: www.hospicenursejulie.com
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.

It can be a difficult idea to engage with, but children face terminal illnesses and life-limiting circumstances too. And it takes vastly empathetic healthcare professionals like Dr. Jared Rubenstein to help them navigate their experience with grace, intention, and peace.
Dr. Rubenstein shares his perspective with Cody for this week's episode and talks about how his team came to institute Dignity Therapy Intervention for pediatric care and how some of his patients have reacted to discovering their own life stories.
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.

Wellness Nurse, Life and Death Educator, International Speaker, and Author of the new book "The Good Death," Suzanne B. O'Brien, RN, has helped train over 360,000 people globally in how to care for loved ones at the end of life and how we can all prepare ourselves for a "good death."
In this episode of Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective, Suzanne joins Cody to share what she's experienced by caring for literally thousands of people at the end, and to tell a story or two from the bedside.
You can purchase Suzanne's book, "The Good Death," at thegooddeathbook.com or at your preferred book provider, and you can learn more about Suzanne's incredible efforts to promote holistic health, wellness & healing trainings for living a life of fulfillment, purpose, and service at suzannebobrien.com. 
We also take a few moments at the beginning of this episode to remember Rachel Ling, a guest of the show who recently passed away. ♥️
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.

In this episode of Dying to Tell You: The Caring Perspective, (E07) Cody interviews his long-time friend Garrett Price about his journey from chaplaincy to becoming a licensed professional counselor specializing in trauma, grief, and loss.
Garrett shares a touching story about his time as a hospice chaplain, including his experience with a terminal patient we’ll call Doug. It reveals the powerful human connections formed in end-of-life care and the lessons learned through compassion and deep listening. More than anything, this episode emphasizes the role of chaplains in providing non-judgmental, authentic care and discusses the importance of embracing and understanding challenging emotions.
Garrett is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Idaho whose calling to help others emerged in his early 20s while caring for his dying grandmother. This profound experience sparked a desire to learn about care, leading him to train as a minister and work with youth.
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.

Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective E06: Clinical Chaplain Aaron
Aaron Metcalf is a board-certified Clinical Chaplain at a Level 1 Trauma Center nestled in Portland, Oregon. Aaron has lived in Oregon most of his life and enjoys the northwest outdoorsy life along with the intense and meaningful work of chaplaincy. He especially loves working with amazing nurses and doctors as they engage in the challenging world of healthcare.
Aaron shares the story of a patient who, at the end of their life, expressed a desire to die outside. As you can imagine, that can prove to be challenging in a hospital setting. But Aaron and his team listened, understood, and started taking the steps necessary to make it happen. And, in Aaron's words, it was a beautiful death. 
Aaron is the co-host of No Really, I’m Fine, a wonderfully informative podcast on how we all handle—or at least try to handle—stress in our work and our lives.
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.

Dying to Tell You: The Caring Perspective—E05 with Dr. John Mulder
Dr. Mulder shares his incredible story of a patient who was at the end of her life but, beyond medical explanation, not yet ready to go. And how he stumbled quite by accident on what seemed like the answer.
Dr. John Mulder currently serves as the Executive Director for Trillium Institute, Chief Medical Consultant for Hospice and Palliative Care for Holland Home, and the Medical Director of Palliative Care for University of Michigan Health-West in Grand Rapids, MI. He is a frequent speaker on end of life, ethics, and palliative issues and has been honored as the recipient of the 2019 Palliative Medicine Community Leadership Award by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
We invite you to sit with Dr. Mulder and Cody as they discuss the deep reverence, compassion, and understanding it takes to serve in palliative care.
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Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective is a series of interviews with healthcare professionals who sit down with Cody to share stories of patients and experiences that have changed how they practice, how they view death, and how they live their lives.