Grassroots Deathcare

16/11/2025

Thank you Zenith Virago- Doing Death Well for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. I can't wait to bring this to my community!

06/11/2025

THIS SUNDAY, 9TH NOVEMBER - 10am - 2pm

Come and say 'Hi' at the Moreton Bay Eco Fest!

I'll be there spreading the word about Natural Burial, and other Eco-friendly ways to take care of your body after you die.

Most of us think about how our actions effect the planet, but not many of us think about our impact after death.

Dr Karl will also be there!

For more info, have a look here -
https://whatsonmoretonbay.com/events/moreton-bay-eco-fest

01/11/2025

Ready for an unpopular opinion?

UNPOPULAR OPINIONS #1
Why saying someone “isn’t allowed to come home from hospital” is complete nonsense.

Unless someone is an involuntary patient (under the Mental Health Act) if the patient has capacity to make the decision to go home - they can go home anytime they want.

If the patient doesn’t have capacity to make the decision, it is made by their Medical Treatment Decsion Maker (similar to what used to be called a Medical Enduring Power of Attorney). More about who this is for you if haven’t appointed one in a future edition of Unpopular Opinions!

So why do people in health services say people ‘can’t go home’ so often?

Most commonly - they aren’t saying it.
But they are implying it…. Strongly.

People working in health services see first hand when something goes wrong in the home (falls etc). So their advice will often be tailored towards ‘risk reduction’ measures and strongly worded suggestions.

“It would be much safer for your Dad to wait until you have a hospital bed before he goes home”.

Two things to think about
1. people dealing with end of life issues, don’t have the luxury of waiting until everything is completely set up at home.
2. Reducing risk is not the same as increasing quality of life.

So remember - unless you are an involuntary patient, no one can keep you in hospital.

What people in the health system are trying to say (hopefully!!) is
“We are really worried about you/your loved one going home because they need lots of care.
We would recommend that they stay here until we can get things set up a bit more so that they don’t have problems at home.
Everything we say is just advice, you don’t have to take it, but we think it might help you/your loved one be more comfortable and not need to come back to hospital “

But that takes too long. So whatever they are saying as a strongly worded suggestion often gets translated in our brains to “not allowed to go home”.

Remember if the hospital really doesn’t want someone to do home for medical reasons, they will probably make you sign an ‘against medical advice” form and they can also decline to readmit someone.

In summary - majority of people can go home whenever they like. Try to have a calm open chat with the team looking after you/your loved one to get to the reasons why they think you should stay and try to find the best balance of risk management and quality of life FOR YOU.

23/10/2025

WORLD POLIO DAY - 24th October

My Dad contracted Polio when he was 6 years old, in 1937.

While Polio is almost gone, there are still a couple of places around the world where wild poliovirus circulates.

It was ever present for me, growing up, and the effects of the virus lasted his entire life.

If you want to know more about it, check out these websites: https://polioeradication.org/news/world-polio-day-2025-a-global-call-to-finish-the-job/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-polio-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20355669

13/10/2025

Totally normal to drive down the road with a casket on your roof racks!

11/10/2025

08/10/2025

So who's coming to Toowoomba this Saturday, 11th October?

It's going to be a great day, with so many speakers, panel discussions, Death Cafe's and stalls.

https://www.deathexpo2025.com/

I hope to see you there! 🩵

05/10/2025

This coming Saturday 11th October, you'll find me at the very first Toowoomba Death Expo. ⬇

It runs from 10am - 3pm at the HumeRIdge Church - Details here - https://www.deathexpo2025.com/

I'll be bringing my 'Before I die' wall as wel as taking part in a panel discussion called 'Funeral Planning 101'.

It will be a great day, so if you live in the area, or know people that do, or just feel like to drive to see the flowers, I'd love to see you there!

02/10/2025

"Mum knew EXACTLY what she wanted", Catherine told me.

She then showed me photocopied pages from funerals her mum had attended, covered with notes, bits crossed out, and highlights. 👀

While it was a bit of a jumbled mess, together we worked it out, and created the ceremony exactly as mum wanted.

This is an example of how putting some thought into planning can help a family, when they are in the midst of grief and shock, to know what to do. It takes a lot of the stress and guessing out of it.