As Ellen Gutenstein lay in her bed at home, dying from lung cancer that had metastasized in her brain, a heart-wrenching Mother’s Day card arrived from her granddaughter. Neither Ellen’s daughter nor her husband felt they could read it to her without breaking down.
Fortunately, a volunteer from the local hospice’s doula program was on hand to help Ellen, who was a resident of Ridgewood, N.J., die comfortably at home. The volunteer picked up the letter and read it with compassion.
The doula not only made my mom's life easier—she made our lives easier, too.
, Ellen's daughter
