Kaiāwhina, Maori, Grief, Loss and the Love of a Good Dog.

In a wide ranging and deeply felt interview Hospice Waikato’s Kaiāwhina Honey Hireme-Smiler talks about her work supporting Maori patients and their whanau and her own experiences with grief and loss. There’s a perception among Maori that Hospice is a Pakeha thing, it’s not. Hospice is for everyone and accommodates all cultural needs. The next episode of the Last Breath Episode is about assisted dying and we start that discussion here with grief counsellor Maxine Exely who featured in episode 7. She talks about her experiences with assisted dying before turning to the subject of her own enduring grief.