About this episode

Jackie L. Disch shares her experience of caring for her wife Katie during her final weeks, discussing love, advocacy, and the complexities of grief.

In this episode Rosie Moss speaks with Jackie L. Disch, who shares the story of her wife Katie and the life they built together over 23 years. A relationship rooted in deep acceptance. Katie’s death came suddenly in 2020 after a series of strokes, during a time when COVID restrictions meant hospitals were inaccessible, isolating, and frightening. What followed was a rapid shift from normal life into end-of-life care at home, as Jackie supported Katie through her final weeks. This is a conversation about presence. About what it means to stay when things are hard. About advocating for the person you love, even when every part of you wants a different outcome. Jackie speaks candidly about the decisions they made to prioritise comfort over intervention, and the complexity of holding both love and loss in the same space. There is honesty here about fear, anger, and the practical realities that come after death. But there is also something else running through it, a thread of dignity, connection, and what Jackie describes as “living grief” rather than moving on from it. This episode covers: • A long-term partnership built on acceptance and deep emotional safety • The impact of COVID on…

People in this episode

Host: Rosie Moss

Guest: Jackie L. Disch

Topics covered

• love and loss
• end-of-life care
• advocacy
• grief
• COVID impact
• home hospice

Keywords

• end-of-life
• home care
• grief
• advocacy
• COVID
• love
• loss
• hospice

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