For Typing Out Loud

Having just recently blogged about the Schiavo case a few days ago, I’m hesitant to do it again, so I’ll wade back in with another personal observation: my mother-in-law should be blogging. She has been a hospice nurse for 20 years and I think the blogosphere would benefit greatly from hearing the viewpoint of a hospice professional. We’ve discussed the case briefly this weekend, but I don’t want to put words in her mouth; I want to inspire her to blog about the issue herself. Majikthise, in her newest, excellent piece on the case, briefly mentions hospice professionals but I think it’s sad that I’ve only found one blog written by someone in the hospice industry, and they’re unwilling to take a stand on the Schiavo case.

My mother-in-law would be the perfect person to fill this void. She’s already let Jenn and I that she’s very interested in the entire blogging experience. She regularly reads a few blogs and she definitely has the opinions and writing skills to do so herself. All she needs know is a good domain and us to help with the purchase and hosting, but those are easy. Just a few clicks on our host, Dreamhost, and she can have a shiny, new WordPress blog of her very own.

I guess what has my blood pumping is the intersection of blogging and my life on the other side of the monitor. I’m very opinionated about the Schiavo case (let Michael decide) and I’ve got an equally passionate relative who should be blogging about this subject but she doesn’t have a blog. It’s now up to us to get her to take the next steps. She says she wants to write in a local journal (a Word doc) to get herself started and then populate the blog with this pre-existing content. I’m leaning towards an interim Blogspot solution or just a nudge over the edge into a full-fledged blog.

No matter what happens in the future or what topics capture our attention, the blogosphere needs more voices. It needs more veteran hospice nurses and bus drivers and ditch diggers and pilots. It needs more passion, more diversity and more individuals. I’m doing my part for the recruitment efforts. Stay tuned to this space for updates.

5 thoughts on “For Typing Out Loud

  1. I disagree when you say that I was unwilling to take a stand on the Schiavo case. My stand is that I don’t know and that I think those who believe that they know for sure what Terri would have wanted are funny. I’ve never met Terri, never discussed end-of-life issues with her, and have no clue what she did or did not say to her husband. I don’t know, and very few people in this world do.

    I do have a new post about this subject that I wrote this morning, and it may shed a bit more light on why I’m not as into this case as you may expect.

    Thanks,

    Hospice Guy

  2. Hospice Guy, thanks for taking the time to comment here. I apologize if I misrepresented your position and I’m anxious to hear your thoughts on the subject.

    My main point was that we don’t see many hospice nurses/administrators/professionals talking about the subject and I think my mother-in-law could fill that void. If you’d like, I can update my post to reflect the nuance of your opinion.

  3. You did not offend me at all. No stress.

    I 100% agree that we need more hospice workers in the blogosphere. After you have done hospice work for a while you begin to look at the world from an angle that few can. We are the experts at the one thing that nobody wants to be an expert on, and that gives us a worldview that few have but many need. I hope our voices grow.

    Thanks.

  4. I really do appreciate the work you do in hospice and your blog. Here’s hoping more of your compatriots take up the cause.

    Thanks again for stopping by to comment.

  5. Right to Die

    Over the weekend I mentioned the dearth of hospice professionals blogging the Schiavo brouhaha and got into a discussion about my mother-in-law and blogging. After a discussion with another hospice blogger in my comments and a few days time, my mother…

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