When both of your parents die side by side in hospice care, it changes you forever.

In this deeply personal episode of Sip on This, host Deirdre Haggerty shares the true story of losing her father to pancreatic cancer and her mother to complications from Alzheimer’s disease—just two days apart, in their living room, on hospice care. That experience moved her from grief to service: fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association and volunteering as a hospice companion.

To explore what hospice really is, Deirdre is joined by Gail Rabstein, CDP, Director of Volunteers and Interns at Embracing Hospice Care. Together, they talk about what meaningful companionship looks like at the end of life, how volunteers support both patients and families, and why hospice is about much more than “giving up.” Gail shares powerful stories of music, presence, and connection, and explains how Embracing Hospice Care’s holistic, family-owned approach supports mind, body, and spirit.

You’ll hear about:

• What hospice care truly is—and what it isn’t

• How volunteers bring dignity, comfort, and human connection to patients

• The different ways people can volunteer (including remote roles)

• Common myths and misconceptions about hospice

• How hospice teams support overwhelmed families making impossible decisions

If hospice care is part of your story, if you’re caring for aging parents, living with Alzheimer’s in the family, or if you’ve ever wondered whether volunteering in hospice might be for you, this conversation is a window into the beauty, pain, and purpose found in one of life’s most vulnerable chapters.

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, follow, and leave a review so you don’t miss a second of what comes next.

For more tools, coaching, and resources to navigate grief, second-act reinvention, and relationships, visit CoachingWithMsD.com.

Gail Rabstein grabstein@ehcnj.com

https://embracinghospicecare.org/

A Professional Career, Life, and Relationship Coach is here for YOU. Schedule your FREE 15-Minute Discovery Call. Let’s Connect: 732-800-6416, deirdre@coachingwithmsd.com, www.coachingwithmsd.com

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