Sitting at the bedside of a dying man, Nanette Godbout flipped slowly through an illustrated book about life after death.
asserted
Godbout → sit → death
Although the gentleman was unresponsive, Ms. Godbout said he managed to open his eyes, which drifted across the pages of The Next Place.
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which → say → Place
“The next place that I go will be as peaceful and familiar as a sleepy summer Sunday and a sweet, untroubled mind,” the book opens before detailing a gentle transition into the next realm.
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book → go → realm
Ms. Godbout, who volunteers her time sitting with strangers in Winnipeg who are nearing the end of their lives, has come to understand that death doesn’t follow a schedule.
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death → volunteer → schedule
Nurses told her that it would likely be days before the man died, but he closed his eyes for the final time after the book was read aloud.
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book → tell → time
“It just seemed to speak to him,” Ms. Godbout said.
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Godbout → seem → him
“One would never know, but it’s just my intuition, my interpretation of what he was feeling.
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he → know → what
There was something in that book that I felt he maybe needed to hear.”
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he → be → that
For roughly six years, Ms. Godbout, 59, has volunteered with No One Dies Alone, a program where trained volunteers provide comfort to individuals who are nearing death and have no family or close friends available to sit with them.
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family → volunteer → them
The program, which began in 2019, is run through the provincial charity Palliative Manitoba, and takes place at two Winnipeg locations that provide end-of-life care, Riverview Health Centre and Deer Lodge Centre.
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that → begin → care
The concept of No One Dies Alone, or NODA, was born in Eugene, Ore., in the 1980s.
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One → die → 1980s
Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse working the night shift at Sacred Heart Medical Center, said a dying patient who could barely speak asked her to sit with him.
uncertain
who → work → him
She promised him that she would come back after making her rounds, but he died by the time she returned, Ms. Clarke explained in a 2013 interview with Mayo Clinic.
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Clarke → promise → Clinic
He had a simple wish that was easily granted, and I couldn’t do it,” she said, tears gathering in her eyes.
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tears → have → eyes
“I always say it’s a man whose name I have no idea, but it’s a man I’ll never forget.”
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I → say → idea
In 2001, Ms. Clarke’s No One Dies Alone program was founded, serving as the model for hundreds of chapters that have since launched across the United States, Canada and around the world, including in the United Kingdom and Singapore.
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that → die → Kingdom
While each group operates independently, all have the same underlying mission, a hope made clear in its very name.
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all → operate → name
That no one dies alone.
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one → die → ?
In places where it is available, these volunteers make it so health care workers can focus solely on medical care.
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workers → make → care
But service availability does vary, especially in rural and remote regions, making it difficult at times to fulfill every patient’s last wish.
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it → vary → wish
Asked how she became a volunteer with NODA Manitoba, Ms. Godbout said it traces back to her first encounter with death.
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it → ask → death
She was just a teenager when her aunt died suddenly, and the adults in her life were so consumed with their own grief that she was left to navigate hers alone.
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she → die → hers
The death, for many years, haunted a young Ms. Godbout, who was left with uncomfortable, difficult questions about her own finite existence.
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who → haunt → existence
Rather than drown in those feelings, the lifelong educator decided to confront them, beginning an enduring journey demystifying death and dying.
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educator → drown → death
She is trained as an end-of-life doula and has a master’s degree in education, with a specialization in grief and bereavement, and another one in counselling.
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She → train → counselling
Through schooling, Ms. Godbout took a 10-week compassionate care course offered through Palliative Manitoba, a prerequisite for any volunteer with the organization who supports individuals with life-limiting illnesses and the bereaved.
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who → take → illnesses
It covers topics such as spiritual care and how to differentiate between spirituality and specific religious beliefs, end-of-life ethical issues and how to comfort the dying.
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It → cover → dying
Her volunteer work started soon after, first as a co-facilitator with children’s grief groups, then with the telephone bereavement program and as an end-of-life companion, supporting people with an incurable illness and their families.
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work → start → illness
In 2019, she raised her hand to join NODA and has since been called to the bedsides of 16 individuals.
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she → raise → individuals
“Being with someone at the end of life is like standing in a doorway between two worlds.
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Being → stand → worlds
It feels like being present for a birth in that we both stand at opposite ends of the same sacred mystery,” Ms. Godbout said.
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Godbout → feel → mystery
“At a birth, we watch someone take their first breath, and at death, we may witness their last.
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we → watch → last
And in each case, we’re powerless to control the moment itself.
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we → ’re → moment
All we can do is provide care and comfort and support.
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we → do → care
Despite the emotional weight of being a NODA volunteer, Kathleen Williamson, Palliative Manitoba’s end-of-life volunteer co-ordinator, said they have not had difficulties finding people willing to step up.
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they → say → people
She said they have about 40 volunteers, all of whom have varying availabilities to take on bedside vigils.
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all → say → vigils
Typically, volunteers are called to sit with people who are expected to die in the next 24 to 72 hours, typically taking on three-hour shifts between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
In addition to the completion of the compassionate care course, volunteers are required to have enhanced criminal-record checks, provide personal references and complete additional training.
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volunteers → call → training
Still, some applicants are denied for various reasons – for example, if they have recently experienced a personal loss and are still grieving, Ms. Williamson explained.
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Williamson → deny → loss
Most often, people nearing the end of life refer themselves for NODA, but family or a power of attorney can also make a referral.
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family → near → referral
Referral forms, Ms. Williamson said, detail the individual’s cognitive and mental state, comfort with touch, their cultural or religious background and any other relevant details.
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Williamson → say → touch
…and 13 more, not listed.
