My Professional Journey

"I've been involved in healthcare my entire life. My experience includes being a chemotherapy nurse and massage therapist. Through it all,
a driving question has been:

"How am I making a difference in the lives of the people I am serving?"

In caring for my patients, clients, family, and friends, I've witnessed the fear and turmoil around death and dying as well as peaceful acceptance. My son's unexpected death, in 2015, stopped me in my tracks - causing me to question at a much deeper level.

"Was he afraid? Am I afraid of dying myself, and what about my loved ones? What will it be like? Will there be pain? How will I manage all the emotions and tasks that must be dealt with?"

In time I was serendipitously guided to learn about End of Life Doulas, and the more I read and asked questions, the more I was attracted. Once I completed the training, I focused on becoming a companion and guide for individuals and families working through
the death and dying journey. More recently I realized the importance of forgiveness work and have incorporated ceremony when requested..

See the section on the Initial Consultation for more details.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are unlike any other flower. They are beautiful, colorful, and unique, none of them are the same. They stand tall, reach for the sun's light, absorb water, and are fed by the soil and grow. The center holds hundreds of seeds and larger ones may contain 2000 or more. Each seed can produce a flower.

The seeds from one sunflower have the ability to create up to 2000 or more. Once the flower is ready, it completes its life cycle, dries up, and dies. The seeds fall to the ground, dry, and rest in the rich soil, absorbing water until it’s time to grow and produce their unique flower.

Imagine every one of us is a sunflower.

Each of us is unique, Indeed we are nature’s miracle.

We have the ability within us to create and sow our seeds, to impact many thousands of lives while we’re here. Whether we realize it or not, a smile, a handshake, a hug, a gift, or a compliment is making an impact.

When we forgive each other and ourselves, in so many ways we’re spreading our seeds and impacting the lives of those we come in contact with. We’re spreading love and, like the sunflower, when the time comes, we naturally complete our life cycle and, it’s not the end. The seeds we sow, the lives we've impacted grow up and create new life. The cycle of life continues.

Each of us leaves our unique legacy.

The seeds we sow continue to create life.

We matter and we matter forever.

~ Holly Menard

Reaching for the Light

Life is like a sunflower

Spreading in death, love!”

~ Norma Martí

"You matter because you are, and you matter to the end of your life."

~ Dame Cecile Saunders
Founder of St. Christopher's Hospice, London UK

License and Training

Doula Training

Member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance and listed in their directory.

I network with other doulas and regularly attend training classes to stay informed and to be better prepared to serve my clients.

I show up to create a steady, safe, non-judgmental space, provide support in managing details, and advocate, when desired, for my client's wishes.