Helen Roberts

Death and dying have a been part of my life for a long time. I’m comfortable with discussions around the process of dying and also being present with those who are dying, or who have died, and their families.

Dying can be many things, a time of healing and love, emotional, spiritual and physical pain. In our modern world physical pain can usually be relieved. Emotional and spiritual pain however is not often recognised or spoken of. This is a tragedy because one of the greatest analgesics for emotional pain is the simple act of genuine listening.

As someone who cares deeply, but is outside of your family circle, I bring a stable, grounded and compassionate presence to the confusion you may be feeling at this time.

Our culture has developed a fear of dying and death for many reasons. These include our attachment to youth and our denial of ageing . The advances and changes in health care have pushed death mostly into the sterile rooms of hospitals. We deny death as a normal part of daily life as it once was many years ago.

I believe we need to bring death back into our lives and accept death as a normal human experience, not a medical event.

It is my wish for us all to embrace and accept our own deaths and in doing so, live more meaning lives.
I have 30 years of nursing experience and most of those years spent in Paediatric Intensive Care. I have borne witness to the dying process many times and gently encouraged families to care for their children after death. It has always been a privilege to serve these families at this time.

I am a home volunteer with Palliative Care.

I have been a member of Heartfelt for 12 years. Heartfelt is a group of professional photographers who give their time to provide photographic memories for families who suffer stillborn, extremely premature and terminally or critically ill children.