Meet Desiree
I am an End-of-Life Doula and a casual Care Aide in Hospice. I live in North Vancouver, BC. and have been serving the North Shore and surrounding areas since 2021.
Quality of life and End-of-Life care has always been a theme close to my heart. Growing up in the Netherlands, I was closely involved as a teen and young adult in the End-of-Life care and support for my mother, followed by the passing of my father a few years later. Dutch culture is open, tolerant and welcomes conversations which is reflected in their death and dying traditions. This is the approach I embrace in my practise.
In 1997, I moved to Canada from the Netherlands after receiving a Master's Degree in International Development. I raised my family in North Vancouver and was a small business owner for nine years. With the arrival of the health care crisis in 2020, I could no longer ignore the urge I had long felt to help people face the end of their lives with compassion and purpose. I formalized my skill set as an End-of-Life practitioner through the Health Care Assistant Program at Capilano University and End-of-Life Doula training at Douglas College. I have since been working in hospices and practicing as an End-of-Life Doula.
My hope is that people are able to spend their final months and days focused on things that are important to them, and that they are able to have an End-of-Life experience that is most meaningful to them and their loved ones.
I believe that at the end of our lives we should be accompanied and supported in whatever way we choose, cared for by compassionate, sensitive, knowledgeable people who will attempt to understand, predict, and support one's needs.
If you think I might be able to help you on your End-of-Life journey, please get in touch so we can start a conversation!