Email Support

As a part of the Alberni Valley Hospice Society’s commitment to our community we are offering a new online support program for individuals to ask questions and receive information and support regarding anticipatory grief, care giving and caregiver burnout, death, dying and bereavement.

Are you are looking after someone with a life limiting illness? Are you tired out and alone? Do you have questions or need support from someone who will listen?

The diagnosis of a life limiting illness is the beginning of a confusing and difficult process for everyone involved. Life as you knew it can be turned upside down with the many changes that have or will occur as the result of the illness and possible expected death.

Roles within the family change. Normal family routines are sometimes difficult to maintain. At the same time you may experience intense swings in emotion as you anticipate death and the future; emotions can be raw, and you may find it difficult to support one another. You may find that you have little energy for friends and well-meaning others. Relationships with health professionals may be beneficial to ensure open communication and direct information.

As a care giver you may feel alone, without the kind of support that gives you permission to laugh, cry or talk with someone who understands that you have your own needs and who won’t make you feel guilty or judged.

Have you experienced the death of a significant person in your life? Are you feeling overwhelmed by your thoughts and emotions? Would you like more information about the grieving process?

When someone important to you dies, whether sudden or expected, you grieve. This is a time of change, from the way things were to the way things will be. You may experience a wide range of responses over an extended period of time. Grieving begins long before death when someone has been ill and their death has been expected. This is called anticipatory grief. However it does not mean that you won’t grieve and enter a period of bereavement if death does come.

With sudden or unexpected death, and depending on the circumstances surrounding the death, you may suddenly feel powerless, overwhelmed by the need to find answers, vulnerable and worried about your own safety and security. The world as you knew it and the assumptions that you made about it no longer exist. Nothing will ever be the same again.

All of your emails will be answered by our experienced grief and bereavement counselors. We are offering this service as an addition to our regular services which include a caregiver’s support group, and the weekly bereavement support group.

Your mail will be held in strict confidentiality, only shared with other staff members as required to answer your questions or meet your needs for support.

If this information sounds familiar or you have other concerns or questions, please contact us by email at connections@albernihospice.ca for information and support.