美国国家公共电台 NPR--End-of-life doulas are working to make conversations about death easier

End-of-life doulas are working to make conversations about death easier

Transcript¹

The profession of end-of-life doulas has been growing since the pandemic. They are like birth doulas — except rather than helping² someone with a birth, they guide people through the process of dying.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Talking about dying can be uncomfortable, awkward and heartbreaking. But a growing number of people called end-of-life doulas are working to make conversations about the inevitability³ of death easier for patients and their families. Sara Wittmeyer from member station WFIU reports.

SARA WITTMEYER, BYLINE⁴: Kelli McLaughlin makes her way to the couch in her Carmel, Ind., living room, using her cane⁵ so she doesn't lose her balance. Her husband, Ryan, is nearby. The strain she is under is written all over their faces.

KELLI MCLAUGHLIN: It's been a grueling couple of weeks, not just with the information and decisions we've had to make, but just that turn of the corner of, yes, I'm going to die from this.

WITTMEYER: Kelli found out in 2021 she has brain cancer. It's glioblastoma, stage 4, the same kind of cancer that Joe Biden's son Beau and U.S. Senator John McCain died from. After surgery a year ago, Kelli's cancer is already back.

MCLAUGHLIN: It's resistant⁶ to treatment. It's like shooting BBs at a grizzly⁷ bear and thinking you're going to do something.

WITTMEYER: End-of-life doula Angela Hershey is here today to listen, provide support and hopefully just help Kelli relax.

ANGELA HERSHEY: As long as we've been living, we've been dying. And so death doulas are really an ancient role.

WITTMEYER: Angela's been on Kelli's care team since August, helping the family and talking with them about the practical and emotional details of dying. Angela begins lighting⁸ incense⁹ and laying out an assortment¹⁰ of healing stones and flowers on a small table.

Anyone can call themselves a death doula. No license¹¹ is required and no accreditation¹² agency oversees¹³ them. However, Alvin Harmon, the head of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, says the practice has been steadily¹⁴ growing since the pandemic.

ALVIN HARMON: How people died - that was what became important - having that safe space, that whole space, people dying in a manner that felt safe to them and was important to them.

WITTMEYER: Insurance doesn't cover doulas, so they often work on a sliding scale based on what the client can pay. Although training isn't required, it's helpful, and Harmon says the alliance does offer classes.

HARMON: They're trained in just how to recognize the client, being able to say there's some other phone calls that we can make, help people making funeral arrangements, you know, all of these things. They really, really support.

WITTMEYER: Kelli says it's a difficult time. The youngest of her four kids, a kindergartner, doesn't know yet that her mom is sick. Angela will help the family prepare. There's a chart on Kelli's bedroom wall that lists her top three priorities for the time she has left - family, friends and raising awareness¹⁵ about glioblastoma.

(SOUNDBITE OF SINGING BOWL THRUMMING)

WITTMEYER: Angela plays a singing bowl in the room. As the sound rises, she steps forward and rubs some perfume over Kelli's heart.

(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)

WITTMEYER: As Kelli's condition worsens, Angela will come more often. Kelli hopes the way she's dying will be a final gift to her children.

MCLAUGHLIN: This alternative way of approaching it as a very spiritual and sacred crowning of your life, I think it could be very healing for you and those you love.

WITTMEYER: After Kelli dies, Angela will begin helping the family and supporting them as they deal with the grief of losing a wife and a mother.

For NPR News, I'm Sara Wittmeyer in Bloomington, Ind.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOGGING HOUSE'S "PLASMA")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 inevitability   

n.必然性

参考例句：

• Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
• It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流，历史的必然。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

6 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

7 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

8 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

9 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

10 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

13 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

14 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

15 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。