Gentle Walk Home©

When my Uncle in Iowa became ill and I went to be with him for large periods of time as he recovered from congestive heart failure and went back to running his farm.   A few months later he had had a stroke - a bleed really - in his brain causing paralysis of the left side of his body and it left him unable to swallow.  I knew that by my sheer will I could again single-handedly bring him back to “normal”.  Even though he was paralyzed I “knew” that because he had been able to run his farm before “it” happened he would be able to bounce right back given just a little more time.  Five months later I still had that hope deep within me, but other factors had to be addressed.  He was becoming fragile and the slightest thing would send him to the hospital and when he returned he was never quite the same as before.  One afternoon the two of us were talking about God and about dying - taking that final Walk home - and I found that there was a definite uneasiness within him even though his history was that of one who had a relationship with God.  He was afraid of the next unknown step.  He felt that perhaps he hadn’t really done enough.  I asked God to help me help him and the Gentle Walk Home© was born. 

Uncle Edwin experienced The Walk© several times and with each instance he became more comfortable just being wrapped in God.  He told me, “God is really beautiful and safe. When it’s time to go, God will let me know and it will be fine.”  In March of 2008 God evidently let him know and peacefully, quietly and with no fear, he left us. 

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After his death my first inclination was to share this Walk© with patients who were involved in the hospice program and that were soon to experience their own death.  I wanted it to be available to hospice workers and to family that would be involved closely with that patient. It seemed that it would be an amazing asset for every hospice worker to have in his or her toolbox.   It would be a source of solace to those family members who were there with the patient in those last moments.  In my research, I asked several people to critique the Gentle Walk© for me.  The feedback has always been very positive, but I was delighted when many of them stated that they found this to be a very special gift for them personally.  They stated that as they met God and spent time with Him it helped them sort out their daily life. It has turned out to be an especially helpful tool for each and every person who experienced it – patient or caregiver.