February Death Café Iowa
A write up of Online Death Cafe Iowa CST
For our February Death Café Iowa we met on Zoom. Buffy Peters and Hannah Moldovan, our intern, from the Bereavement Professionals Group facilitated the group. There were 13 individuals who attended the Death Café and participants were from everywhere including Massachusetts, California, and Canada.
The first topic we talked about was Death Doulas. A few participants were either practicing Death Doulas or on the path to becoming Death Doulas. Death Doulas are non-medical aids to individuals towards the end of their death to make sure that what they want to happen is carried out. Doulas keep their clients comfortable during the last stages of death and are there for the client to talk to and be that individual to lean on who isn’t as emotionally invested as family.
The other topic we talked about was the idea of dying alone. Some individuals mentioned that they wanted to be alone to die because it was a private and intimate experience for the dying individual. Other participants mentioned that dying with loved ones close was also a comforting and desired outcome.
The last topic we ended on was the topic of pets and death. A participant mentioned how the only person she wants with her when she dies is a family dog. The group went into a conversation about how animals love unconditionally and they know when you are sick or need comfort.
This Death Café was full of great conversation and an opportunity to connect with new people all over the world who are interested in the topics of death and dying. We look forward to the March Death Café .