Hands with Heart, LLC

12/11/2025

This is amazing

18/10/2025

To have loved deeply, is to grieve deeply...

The Second Wave

It’s the one you never see coming.
The one that shows up years later,
long after people stop checking in.

You think you’ve done the work.
You’ve cried, survived, rebuilt.
You’ve convinced yourself you’re finding your footing again.
Then one random day, grief kicks the door back open.

It hits like it did in the beginning—
sharp, cruel, and familiar.
You don’t ease into it. You drown in it.
That same ache in your chest, that same lump in your throat.
You remember the exact sound of that day,
the way the air felt when your world split.
It all floods back like no time has passed at all.

And the people around you—they don’t see it.
They think you’ve moved on.
They think time has done its job.
But time doesn’t heal this kind of wound.
It just teaches you how to look functional while you bleed.

The second wave makes you realize how deep it still runs.
How love this real doesn’t expire just because life keeps going.
It reminds you that no matter how strong you’ve been,
grief still knows your name.

And when it hits, all you can do is stop fighting it.
Let it come.
Let it wreck you for a while.
Because it’s proof they still exist somewhere inside you.

You’ll stand up again—
you always do—
but for a moment,
you’re back there.
And that’s what the second wave really is—
not starting over,
just remembering how much it still hurts to love someone who’s gone.

27/09/2025

Well said...

Whether you have been walking this path for years or are just beginning to explore it, whether you are part of a hospice team, or you are a clinician, a doula, or someone caring for a loved one, this message is for you. However this work has found its way into your life, these are the words I do my best to live by and carry with me each day.

The most important thing to remember is that you are not a solo act. We are a community. While our approaches may differ, our intention is the same: to support those who are navigating decline, illness, mortality, or the profound moments of preparing to say goodbye. The people we serve depend on us to be a safe place, someone they can trust, and that means leaving our egos at the door.

We are not in competition with each other. None of us will ever know it all. Our role is not to rise by pushing others down but to lift each other up, to extend a hand when someone is struggling, and to remind one another: “I’ve got you, and you are not doing this alone.” Together, we create a community rooted in compassion, trust, and collaboration, ensuring that every human being is cared for with dignity and love at the end of life.

Please, let’s never lose sight of this truth: we are not a solo act, we are a community. The heart of this work is not just in how we show up for the dying, but in how we show up for each other. When we choose connection over competition, and compassion over ego, we create a stronger, more supportive field. And in that space, we remind one another: you are not alone in this work, we walk it together.

xo
Gabby
www.thehospiceheart.net

10/09/2025

Hey folks - HOPE 4 SWEETIE has another fundraiser board & it is being filled! This awesome Pedal Tractor has been donated by Terry Brown 's family & could be yours for just $20.

$20/chance - only 25 chances being sold. Get your name on the board - let us know you can meet up with cash or Venmo Me - just send a PM & we will coordinate! As soon as the board is full - we will draw. Wishing you all luck!

30/08/2025

Another adorable duck found it's way to my door today at the Antigo Farmer's Market ♥️

20/08/2025

This is such a difficult concept, & yet so important for us to understand... especially as our lived ones are nearing the end of their lives...

I was walking down the aisle of a grocery store when I heard a little girl say to her mother, “you know mom, if I don’t eat for three days, I will die.”

I wanted to walk over and let that little girl know that she was wrong. I want everyone who thinks this to know that is wrong. To be fair, maybe some people have died from not eating for a few days but from my experience at the bedside of people who are dying, it has helped me to understand that the body can go a very long time without food. The longest I have witnessed is 19 days. This woman was non-responsive, in a coma-like state, no medications, and from my perspective did not appear to be suffering physically.

I truly believe that the body does not need to have food and water at the end of life. I think food and water can often disrupt the dying process, causing physical discomfort and often suffering.

Most people equate food and water to love, especially when they have been providing this for many years. Family members and caregivers want to push food and water, hoping it will strengthen their person, and make them feel better. But I don’t think it does.

When we are aging, and dying, our throats tend to close and our ability to swallow is reduced, causing people to aspirate/choke, which increases their fear. Sometimes they can tell you verbally that they don’t want food, or they can let you know by shaking their head “no,” closing their mouth when they are being fed, pocketing it in their cheeks, or spitting it out. Listen to them, they are trying to tell you they do not want it. Our role is to honor and respect that.

When we are at the end of our life and dying, our bodies do not benefit from food and water the way a strong and healthy body does. It doesn’t need it, and it doesn’t want it. They will not die faster because they are not eating, and they will not die from starvation or dehydration. They are already dying from the diagnosis and disease process. Not forcing food and water at this time is actually incredibly kind and compassionate.

You are not hurting them, you are giving their body the peace and comfort it needs to go through the dying process however that will look for them uniquely, which can sometimes be many days. Trust that the body knows what to do, and sometimes it lets go quickly and other times longer, but you aren’t hurting them, please trust me on that.

What someone needs when they are dying is physical comfort, to be kept clean, and to be provided with dignity and respect. All human beings deserve this.

xo
Gabby
www.thehospiceheart.net

I have written nine books, each with the intention of providing tips and tools for anyone providing end-of-life care. You can find them all on my author page: https://www.amazon.com/.../Gabrielle.../author/B0CPFTDCKT?

Find this blog here:
https://www.thehospiceheart.net/post/food-and-water-at-the-end-of-life

05/07/2025

30/06/2025

Farewell to a horse man with strong ties to Antigo... my condolences to his family - the world has lost a great man! His words are so true!