Category: Caregivers

Caregivers, Death and Dying, Death in Mexico, End-of-Life Care, Senior Care Mexico

American Architect Creates Moving Medical Art Installation in El Sacrificio, Mexico

bigpondlittlegirl

In February 2019, El Ojo del Lago (The Eye of the Lake), an English-language publication at Lake Chapala, Mexico catering to 20,000 high season retirees from north-of-the-border, dedicated a section of its magazine to articles on End-of-Life.

Each contributor has worked in Senior Care and End-of-Life care for over 20 years. A piece I wrote was included. See the link (looks good there) or, you may read the copy below the link on this page.

https://www.chapala.com/elojo/february-2019/244-articles-2019/february-2019/4492-ode-to-love-and-care-giving-an-art-installation-at-el-sacrificio-mexico

ODE TO LOVE AND CAREGIVING AT A CHAPALA, MEXICO ART INSTALLATION

It is a notable synchronicity that “Transcendence – A Celebration of Those with Perseverance”, a medical art installation created by LK Gubelman (Leslie Katherine aka Kate), is located in El Sacrificio (the Sacrifice), Jalisco, Mexico.

Gubelman, an architect by profession, was caregiver to her retired and ill parents (mom Canadian, dad American) over the course of eight years at Lake Chapala, Mexico. Her creation is based on what she witnessed as she put her life aside to assist and honor her father and mother. The installation is also, she might share with you, how she has been meeting her irrevocable losses and sadness. The art has been her therapy.

The Transcendence exhibit in El Sacrificio is located inside “Los Conos”, cone-shaped granaries that continue to serve as art studio. Once you enter the big cone you cannot help but notice what is before you – six large scale works that required several years to complete (2015-2018) with the assistance of six men.

What will you see?

Depending on your own interpretation, the exhibit offers a way to reflect on life and death, from the point of view of the caregiver and Kate’s parents.

The largest of the pieces – THRESHOLDS – UMBRALES – is what you notice first. From the entrance, it resembles a beautiful stained glass window. Up close you see a symbolic body surrounded and connected by IV bottles filled with bright-colored water through plastic tubing. According to the artist, this piece is about time passing; each frame telling a tale of care given and the will to persevere. Every bottle was actually used at home.

Thresholds by Kate Gubelman

ENTANGLEMENT – ENREDO is a lattice work of medications, pills and pill boxes hung from the ceiling in suspended form, dazzling with crystal and beads linking one to another like Christmas decorations. Standing under it you cannot help but notice enormity of drugs consumed and what was required by caregiver Kate for medical management. All medication boxes and packets were used by Kate’s parents.

TRANSPARENCY – TRANSPARENCIA is a corridor of x-ray images, CT scans, MRIs mounted on translucent multi-colored panels described best by the publicist as “a tunnel of muted light and color…and a tale of medical machinery (cold steel) and the toll on all involved.” The names of Kate’s parents, Allison and Oscar, are on the panels.

Artist and caregiver Kate concludes, “there was no choice but to create the installation. It was a necessity, it helped my healing.”

Aside from honoring the wishes of her parents, and their lives, Gubelman bears witness to medical choices involved to keep her parents alive.  Somehow, she felt compelled during the caregiving years, to collect and keep pill packages, intravenous bottles, medical records, x-rays, and other mementos.

Little did she know at the time they would become the basis of her installation.

What might you discover or experience?

You may instantly relate to Kate Gubelman’s art pieces, or not. According to Gubelman there are a variety of responses. Many visitors, both gringo and Mexican have felt either saddened or amazed. Many find deep meaning, especially recent widows and widowers who have been caregivers themselves.

Visitors have called the installation captivating, thought-provoking, emotional, and loving.

There is a video of the art installation with visitor comments produced by Bradley Guarano of www.videoparami.com It may be found on this link… https://www.dropbox.com/s/9lh8iv861tb1lny/Transcendence.mp4?dl=0

At minimum, you may feel sacrifice and perseverance were involved not only for Gubelman, but for her parents.  An act of love? A comment on modern medicine? No matter your read, it is an immersive art experience.

Who might wish to see the exhibit Transcendence?

Caregivers, healthcare workers, perhaps those mourning the loss of loved ones, and, the general public

For more information or to schedule a private studio tour, please contact Bethany Anne Putnam 

bethany@lkgubelman.com
USA: 001.508.221.6430
MEX: +52.331.157.2300

You may discover more on the LK Gubelman Facebook page, or find photos of the exhibit on Instagram@ lkgubelman.

Caregivers, Death and Dying, Death and Dying Education, End-of-Life Care, End-of-Life Education, Hospice

All Volunteer Hospice of San Luis Obispo County Sustainable for 41 Years

bigpondlittlegirl

For the last few years I have had the good fortune to visit palliative care and hospice entities in California as well as in six states of Mexico with the objective of learning more about what works, what’s missing, and what might work in Mexico for years to come. There are challenges based on cultural differences, but all is possible.

I am comparing various models – hospitals and facilities (medical), in-home community outreach (medical and/or volunteer), all volunteer, government, non-profit, and for profit.

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County (HSLO) has been on my radar for some time because it is a successful, locally based non-profit volunteer hospice that has sustained itself for 41 years!! For those of you who are familiar with the operations of non-profits, this is an extraordinary achievement.

Aside from serving the public, HSLO educates and trains locals and others as end-of-life doulas (companions). They host Death Cafes and much more.

The sustainability is based on more than dedication and love – mainly inventive ways to engage the public, an especially hard task in a difficult economy.

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County, California office

I am so pleased I was finally able to visit HSLO. I am indebted to the Executive Director and the Director of Volunteers, the few paid staff, for a warm, meaningful, memorable exchange.

HSLO is one of six hospice services in a county with a population of around 284,000. It is the only volunteer in-home hospice supported by the generous energy of over 200 volunteers. They serve approximately 5,000 persons per year.

Any county resident with life-limiting illness is served through “in-home respite care, emotional, spiritual, practical and non-medical support, and grief counseling support (group and individual).”

Other services are education about dying and death for professionals, caregivers and the community, doula programs, Death Cafes, Threshold Choirs, and Pet Peace of Mind groups.

From my perspective their outreach and activities place HSLO in the vanguard of the “death care and the death positive” movement that is sweeping North America and beyond.  It is exhausting but rewarding work.

Additional treat: I was blessed to attend HSLO’s annual Light Up A Life candlelight vigil held at the San Luis Obispo Mission on a nippy, rainy evening. Names of those who have passed were read out loud during the hour service that included a choir. Later we carried candles outside for readings and prayers.

Light Up A Life Candlelight Vigirl, San Luis Obispo Mission, California

Anyone may pay a fee (fundraising) to have the name or names of loved ones read at Light Up A Life. This lovely event is repeated during one week in December in different cities of the county.

HSLO was created in 1977 and has an excellent reputation through word-of-mouth.

Services are provided without charge; no insurance company is billed. 

HSLO relies on community donations, fundraising events, grants, doula training fees, and the time of its over 200 volunteers.

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County is a remarkable operation.  So much goodwill!!  A great gift to the community.

The home which serves as office was bequeathed to HSLO by Dorothy D. Rupe; it bears her name.

1304 Pacific Street, San Luis Obispo,CA  93401  tel. (805)544-2266

http://www.hospiceslo.org/

HSLO is a member of the Better Business Bureau and is a Top Rated Non-Profit.

 

Caregivers, Death and Dying, End-of-Life Care, Health & Wellness Mexico, Hospice, Palliative Care

How Caregiving A Dying Husband Taught a Journalist Appreciation for Living

bigpondlittlegirl

PBS News Hour features a short talk by Tracy Grant, Washington Post editor, about how caring for her terminally ill husband offered an understanding of quality of life and made her own life worth living. (See link at end of blog for video).

As a caregiver, palliative care worker and hospice volunteer, I agree with what Grant communicates. We all become our better selves while caring for others. The ill teach us so much. Their gifts to us last a lifetime. The experiences can be remarkable.

Tracy Grant

Tracy Grant, Deputy Managing Editor, Washington Post

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/tracy-grant/