Last month the world lost a fighter. Seraphina Harrell had just celebrated her eighth birthday, but even that short life was nearly stolen from her, and the world. A Price on Her Head Before she had a name, Seraphina was growing to term inside her surrogate mother, Crystal Kelley. A routine test at the

Today marks the third birthday of my grandson, Elijah. My daughter Bekah has determined to celebrate his birthday every July 29, even though this year the party will include masks and physical distancing. What makes these celebrations bittersweet is the fact that Elijah cannot attend. He was stillborn. Elijah's Story A week before his

Monday was World Elder Abuse Day, but Canadians have been witnessing cases of elder abuse ever since COVID-19 kept families away from their senior members. The pandemic has pulled back the curtain on deficiencies in long-term care (LTC) homes. It has also underlined the dire impacts of social isolation and loneliness. The COVID-19 Stress Test

The “secret weapon hiding in plain sight” To mark National Hospice Palliative Care Week (May 3-9), a cornucopia of articles drew attention to the goals and value of good palliative care. “There is a growing body of evidence that suggests palliative care can lower out of pocket and societal health care costs — and

A recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggested offering patients who are suffering from incurable COVID-19 symptoms the option of palliative sedation at the end of life (1). What does palliative sedation involve? Is it ethically appropriate? Firstly, it is vital that palliative care (comfort care) be offered to all patients who

We’ve heard much about how Canada’s vulnerable sector is suffering under COVID-19 restrictions. The pain of residents of long-term care centres (LTC’s) leaps to mind. But what about people with disabilities? “When the Prime Minister or premiers or others were speaking about COVID-19, they weren’t hearing the concerns of Canadians with disabilities being specifically