Second NODA class
October 4th, 2006
Yesterday was our second training session for NODA-No One Dies Alone. We talked about the movie “Wit” that we had watched in the previous section, and we talked about what we can expect to encounter in regards to the behavior and symptoms of a person who is dying. Next time we’re supposed to find out more about what we actually do while we’re there at the bedside, and each person who is willing will have time to share an experience they’ve had with a dying person. It almost seems like I’m the odd one out here, because I have never yet been near anyone who is in the dying process. I haven’t even been witness to any of my pets when they’ve died. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I’m seeking out this experience. I know I need to learn about it before I’m blind-sided by it.
I do find that I feel like an outsider at times. The woman teaching the class is a hospital chaplain, and it seems very obvious that this woman is a Christian of some denomination. She spoke a lot about talking about God with the dying people she’s attended. While I realize that many of these people probably were also Christian I found that it made me a little uncomfortable. Usually I’m not uncomfortable around other spiritual people who are simply making an honest religious expression, so I’m wondering why this bothered me the way it did. Maybe it’s because I feel like dying is such a personal and private thing. And maybe it’s because I have trouble justifying speaking of articles of faith that are unverifyable even to offer comfort. However, I also know that I have no experience with the dying, and maybe it’s a justifyable practice as long as you aren’t actually pushing a particular religious belief.
There’s just so much to learn.
