EXCLUSIVE REVEALED: The lonely Americans paying $3,000 for death doulas to hold their hand while they die READ MORE: Inside the 'death party' of a woman who chose medical aid in dying By Alexa Lardieri U.S. Deputy Health Editor Dailymail.
Com Published: 20:09, 1 June 2024 | Updated: 14:16, 3 June 2024 e-mail 45 shares 62 View comments When it became clear that 88 year-old John Binder was dying, his daughter started making preparations to quit her job and travel nearly 1,000 miles across the country to take care of her elderly dad. The retired mechanic, who suffered kidney failure as a result of diabetes , couldn't be looked after by his wife, as she was also elderly and had recently undergone cancer treatment, and he refused to go to a hospice center. But then, a church leader recommended the family contact a death doula.
When most people hear the word doula, they think of the person who provides support to pregnant women - but there is another camp of doulas who specialize in the dying. In addition to all death doulas do, a newer aspect of their work may now be offering guidance to patients who want to apply for medical aid in dying, known as MAiD The formal role of death doulas in conventional medicine is relatively new — though the practice has been around for centuries. Mr Binder's daughter eventually hired Ashley Boydston, a death doula close to her parents' home in Kansas City.
Ms Boydston would do everything from helping maneuver him into comfortable positions, to rea.