The following videos are from a “Words Not Spoken” on Communication and Choices in Death Dying, presented at the ANNA & CNSW Renal Update Conference in Seattle, Washington on March 2006.
The theatre piece of the program begins with monologues of different characters dealing with the issue of death and dying. Each person created their own monologues with the training and assistance of the Director, Hedda Matza- Haughton, LCSW. You will be viewing some of the monologues from that presentation in Seattle, Washington. Each time “Words Not Spoken” is presented, the monologues are different.
Each time the “Words Not Spoken” program is presented, the monologues are different and the issue discussed may be different depending on the interests and needs of the sponsoring organization, agency, or company.
"Words Not Spoken"
Introduction
"Words Not Spoken" Characters
“Sandy Brown” Family Member Role She is a 56 year-old daughter of a patient who is 88 years old. She lives in California and her dad is in Washington state. She calls him frequently, but has not seen him for several months. Her mom has passed away, and her dad lives alone. She has one brother who also lives in Washington but is about 2 ½ hours away from her dad. He is not close to his father, has a very busy career, and sees him infrequently.
She is a busy career woman, mother of three, and married. The hospital called and notified her that her father was admitted, but was now being discharged. The hospital expressed concern about her father's overall health and rapid decline. She flew up for a visit.
“Nicole Mason” Nurse Role She is a nurse who is 50 plus years old, and has worked in this field for close to 30 years. She has seen a lot of changes. From a time when a committee decided who was going to get treatment, to a time when you didn't start diabetic or 80+ year-old patients, to now when we seem to start every one on treatment.
Her issues are the ability to be objective and supportive to family members who continue to want their loved ones on dialysis, even though the family member has made it very clear that they do not want to continue treatment.
“Maria Mendoza” Patient Role She is a young, 19 year-old Hispanic woman, born in the U.S. with two young children, her son who is 5 and daughter 3. She isn’t married but really loves her significant other who is the father of her two children. Her children are everything to her. She had one miscarriage due to her renal illness; her other pregnancy ended in an abortion due to health complications (her doctor at the time encouraged her to abort). She has End Stage Renal Disease and Hypertension.
She is in fairly good health other than that. She worries about dying and leaving her children without a mother. She mentioned that if she died, her significant other would take her children to Mexico and that’s something that she didn’t want to happen.
Questions & Answers
The questions focus on how to intervene to help these individuals who are dealing with issues of death and dying. The audience has been divided into 6 groups and one actor joins each group. An example of one or two of the questions discussed follows:
What specific interventions would you do to help the character share their inner feelings and conflicts?
What specific words would you say? Keep in mind your non-verbal behavior as well.
Nurse
Patient
Final Thoughts by Hedda
"Words Not Spoken" Menu:
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