Shanen Kazynski

She had three turning points where my life changed and she discovered my calling.

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In the first, my grandma wasn’t breathing. She had taken a CPR course at school. She immediately performed CPR on her, but it was already too late. She was responsible for calling the coroner and the processes that followed at the house.

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In the second, She saw my dad two days before he passed away suddenly of an aortic aneurysm. She was devastated that she could not be there to hold his hand. She did not have any closure.

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Finally, she was staying with a mentor of mine who had an inoperable brain tumor. I companioned her for three months until her passing.

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Following these life and death situations, She had to do something more. She started volunteering at Gundersen Lutheran, working with the elderly and people at the end of life in hospice.

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She have continued to grow in my knowledge and experience as an end of life companion (doula).

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She really feel that this is where she is called to be: advocating for hospice and palliative care, working through forgiveness issues, and being present so that no one dies alone.