QOTD: How Did Being Present At The Death of a Loved One Change Your Perspective on Dying?

Death comes to all of us but it's a conversation topic that most of us try to avoid. However not only do we need to realistically acknowledge our own mortality, we must also prepare ourselves emotionally for the passing of our loved ones.

While not all of us will experience being present at the death of a loved one, there are many of us who have lived through that experience and our lives are forever changed in some way by that moment of saying farewell.

Today's question of the day on Through the Maze is, have you ever been present at the death of a loved one and how did that experience change you?

Share your story below and/or tweet me with your responses @pamelalynnekemp.  And if you are currently grieving please feel free to share your thoughts with your friends and/or family to help them understand your experience.

"Today, having a loved one live with a terminal diagnosis for an extended period of time is fast replacing sudden and unexpected death as the norm. Consider, for example, that two thirds of those who are diagnosed with cancer currently have a five-year survival rate.
The result of all of this is that death has become less and less a sudden and unexpected event. In its place has come a process that begins with a life-threatening diagnosis, proceeds through a period of treatment (or treatments), and ends eventually in death. This process means that both the terminally ill individual and the family are increasingly confronted with the need to “live with death” for a prolonged period of time. 

Because the nature of death and dying has changed so dramatically, the way we grieve has also changed. The new grief differs from traditional grief in significant ways, not the least of which is that it includes the terminally ill person. In addition, what has increasingly become a protracted process as opposed to an event not only leaves individuals to mourn but typically draws in the entire family of the dying person for months or even for years. This process has the potential to alter lifestyles and force families to confront issues that once were dealt with only after the death of the loved one. It can easily evoke issues from the past that were never fully addressed or resolved."  from the article "Saying Goodbye: Coping With a Loved One's Terminal Illness" 

  http://www.helpguide.org/harvard/saying-goodbye.htm