Just returned from three weeks in Italy celebrating the 90th birthday of “Super Silvana” the last living person of her generation who has witnessed my life since I was a teenager. I hope to share what I learned about aging in place, senior care, and end-of-life from Silvana, her daughter, neighbors, friends, and site visits in Tuscany in another post. As with the U.S., much has changed in the last 10 years – mostly diminishing social services (with some exceptions in both nations) and higher prices. Thankfully in Mexico, prices related to care continue to be more affordable, comparatively.
A few days after my return, I became a member of the Older Adult Advisory Board for the City of West Hollywood, CA. Population 36,000, approximately 6,000 older adults (number to be verified). Excited and honored to serve. There will be much to learn, observe, and address with time. I have permission to mention this event and to post the photo with Francisco, the Strategic Initiatives Program Administrator who swore me in. He is a bright and integral part of all that is evolving. We were delighted to discover mutual Spanish and that I knew the charming town in Jalisco his family is originally from.
Note: The City of West Hollywood, CA was awarded the SCAN Foundation Award 2022 for its Aging in Place/Aging in Community Programs in alignment with the California Master Plan for Aging. You may read more about that here: https://www.weho.org/services/human-services/strategic-initiatives/aging-in-place
Francisco G and Wendy Jane are in the photo below by board member Michael Hollingsworth:
For those of us devoted to palliative and hospice education and community-based services, October 14 was World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. Meaningful. November 2 is World Right to Die Day, a controversial subject, but for some well-being = peace of mind, making a transition legally and quietly. In the U.S. November is known as National Hospice and Palliative Care month.
Dra Susana Lua Nava, the palliative care thought leader in Guadalajara, Mexico who created the only 24/7 palliative care hospital (Juntos Contra el Dolor – United Against Pain) in Jalisco state in 2010, travelled to meet the Pope in Rome in October and has returned to Guadalajara to host the 6th International Palliative Care Congress. The main speaker is her mentor and mentor to Latin American and Spanish palliative care physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and others, Dr. Marcos Gomez Sancho of the Canary Islands, Spain. See https://www.mgomezsancho.com/esp/index.php Other speakers will be from Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico. The congress will be held November 9-11 at Auditorio Fray Antonio Alcalde, Av. Fray Antonio Alcalde 1220, Miraflores, 44270 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico in Spanish. The fee for three days is 1200 Mexican pesos. For more information see: https://juntoscontraeldolor.com/
Even though I attended three Juntos Contra el Dolor palliative care conferences in Guadalajara I reported only on one, the 2nd International Congress produced by Dra Susana:
We are now in the sign of Scorpio, the sign of death and transformation, a sign that teaches us much. Colleagues in Mexico have created events around the Day of the Dead and death and dying.
Wilka Roig, who is based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, is the founder of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation Central Mexico, producer/host of Death Cafes, a transpersonal psychologist, creator of the first green burial plot in Guanajuato state, and most of all an educator with a community-based approach. She is bringing the American director of The Last Ecstatic Days to Lake Chapala with a documentary that dares to ask one of life’s biggest questions about death. The screenings will kick-off the 1st Latin America Impact Tour November 7 and 8, 2023, 3:00 p.m. at Cine+Lago, with free complementary workshops facilitated by the Fundación Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (EKR) México Centro team on November 7 and 8, 11:00 a.m. at Lake Chapala Society, Ajijic, Mexico. Writes Wilka: “The Last Ecstatic Days explores the physical, emotional, and psychological journey of one man’s desire to not die alone, and introduces the hospice doctor who gives up everything to honor that dying wish.” https://wilkaroig.com/
Gerontologist and death doula Loretta Downs is teaching at the Lake Chapala Society, Ajijic, what is one of my favorite subjects to teach Advance Care Planning: Living Well and Dying Well. The dates are November 8 and 15. This is an evergreen subject, always valuable. https://endoflifeinspirations.com/
This week I will participate in two all-day meetings of Carefest sponsored by Caring Across Generations on the UCLA campus in Westwood, CA. The national organization, founded in 2011, states “We are families, caregivers, people with disabilities, and aging Americans creating a new way to live well and age with dignity.” Eager to meet, greet, and share what I learn. https://caringacross.org/
And then a trip to Baja for a site visit of a new senior living home, and a trip to Sonora state Mexico to meet up with a soulful American end-of-life doula and her expat community to talk about preparing for emergencies and end-of-life.
Feeling grateful and fortunate. Sending healing thoughts to climate refugees, those suffering from injuries/illness, those enduring abuse and war, and all. 2024 promises to be better, perhaps, as it will be an 8 year. Eight = infinity.
Wendy Jane Carrel, MA, is a Spanish-speaking senior care advocate from California. She has travelled Mexico for several years researching health systems, senior care, and end-of-life care to connect Americans, Canadians, and Europeans with healing options for loved ones. She is a compassionate companion and palliative care liaison, legacy writer, co-founder of Café Mortality Ajijic/now Death Café Ajijic and founding member/speaker of the Beautiful Dying Expo (USA). She is a trauma-informed, gentle End-of-Life Doula (National End-of-Life Doula Alliance proficient), and a speaker and published author on subjects related to senior well-being. Wendy’s web site is https://www.WellnessShepherd.com
Wellness Shepherd 