Talk: Planning for the “Third Stage of  Life” [] BeWell San Miguel

“You may not control life’s circumstances
but getting to be the author of your life
means getting to control what you do with them.”

These are the words of the physician and writer Atul Gawande the author of “Being Mortal” , one of the best  and most timely books on  growing older and facing mortality with grace. It is full of simple but life altering  wisdom of self-agency and planning.  His observation that “Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death  but a good life to the very end” fuels a critically needed change in perspective for physicians, patients and  their families about end-of-life medical heroics.

Gawande uses the Buddhist concept of approaching aging as “the third stage of life.”   For more information see both Being Mortal and the excellent The Third Stage of Life: Aging in contemporary society by Daisaku Ikeda.  Ikeda is a Buddhist monk who advocates an understanding of aging not as a period of decline but as an opportunity to bring own’s life to a satisfying conclusion.

In the spirit of  imparting critical knowledge unique to living in Mexico during this “third part of life”, Deborah Bickel PA MPH from Be Well San Miguel joins a guest speaker Wendy Jane Carrel, MA, for a joint 2 hour presentation on March 15th at (11:00 ) at the café at Kubo Hotel on Stirling Dickinson 28, San Antonio, 37750 San Miguel de Allende, there is a 100 peso donation and coffee, tea and juice are complementary. The space is open to the air and we will limit the audience size.We are asking for an RSVP to  Deborah@bewellsanmiguel.com.

The topics are central both of interest to expatriates interested in planning for the third and final stage of life. Deborah will discuss how to create a time saving and cost effective Advanced  Medical Directive legal in Mexico. Guest speaker  Wendy joins us from the Lake Chapala area and will plans to give an update on the current status of Palliative Care and Hospice in Mexico including a brief introduction to the End-of-Life Doula movement in Mexico.

Wendy Jane Carrel, MA  has travelled Mexico for several years researching health systems, senior care, and end-of-life care to connect Americans, Canadians, and Europeans with healing options for loved ones. She is a compassionate companion and palliative care liaison, legacy writer, co-founder of Café Mortality Ajijic/Death Café Ajijic, and founding member/speaker of the Beautiful Dying Expo (USA). She is a trauma-informed, gentle End-of-Life Doula (National End-of-Life Doula Alliance proficient), and a speaker and published author on subjects related to senior well-being. Her web site  is https://www.WellnessShepherd.com

Deborah Bickel founded Be Well San Miguel eight years ago. She is a graduate of the Stanford University Physician Assistant program and has a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley. She was a clinician in a busy inner city clinic for nine years while teaching medicine at Stanford.. She has lived and worked in many countries including the United States, the Netherlands, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Nicaragua, Zambia and Mozambique. She is fluent in Spanish and been a clinician in the United States, Mexico and Guatemala. She has a particular interest in geriatrics and helping people choose the highest quality of living even when that may mean shortening our span of years but vastly improving our experiences moment by moment.