Families who lose someone to Prion Disease/CJD often experience many elements of bereavement, during caregiving as well as after the person has passed. The rapid progression of CJD, challenges in obtaining a diagnosis, the need to adapt to diverse symptoms, and shock over how quickly the person transitioned from good health to end of life can complicate the grieving process. It can be helpful to examine those experiences as family members process their losses, from symptom onset through death and bereavement.
This session focuses on helping families understand:
– What to expect as we grieve our losses
– The often-unacknowledged losses we experience before our loved one dies
– The complicating factors of a CJD loss
– Ways to feel understood and supported as we grieve
This session is led by Dr. Abigail Nathanson, LCSW, APHSW-C, ACS. Dr. Abigail Nathanson is a licensed trauma therapist and a board-certified palliative social worker. She has over 15 years of experience working in healthcare with people who are seriously ill or dying and with their caregivers, with healthcare professionals and with those in mourning. Her work has been in hospice, palliative care, skilled nursing facilities, major acute care hospitals and community non-profits. She holds board certification in Palliative Care and has written, taught, and researched in areas such as bereavement, caregiving, death anxiety and coping with serious illness.