SALLY BURCHETT
Getting Started
So far I am really looking forward to the next three weeks here at Hood Mortuary. I started out today by getting a quick run through of the building once again, and I even got a quick peek in the prep room. I continued my morning by sitting in on a call to the family of the man, Joseph Philpott, who died in an avalanche up at Fort Collins.
Shortly after packing in our first few moments of the day, Ryan and I jumped quickly into our first meeting at 9:00 with a family, who were unfortunately second time vistors to Hood Mortuary, but still managed to be very very sweet. Throughout this meeting I learned about the financial process, the embalming and burial processes, and simply how to behave around a grieving family. Ryan gave me some great advice. He said that, even though the funeral director is technically in charge of the meeting, it is best to let the family lead the way in terms of the atmosphere. If they choose to be fun loving and outgoing then feel free to join in, but if they are very solemn and depressed then be very serious and don't joke around. In other words, don't try to lighten the mood unless they induce it first.
After I came back from my nice long lunch I sat in the upper office with "the guys" and listened in on their rather hilarious conversations which were equally balanced with serious calls to transportation services. I was also able to watch the cosmetic processes within preparing a body for a open casket funeral or viewing with Kristal. Then, Ryan and I met with another women planning a funeral for her grandmother. During this I learned more about the programs that they use for their database, including Mortware, a program that helps organize information about funerals and those involved in them. I also came to truly respect the families who have to deal with the funeral planning process after losing an important part of their family. I realize that they have to not only speak of their deceased loved one but also bargain with money and other material things to give a price on the life of the deceased.
This is going to be a very busy week from the looks of it.
March 5, 2013: Day 1 :)
The Test
I hit the ground running today. I went on a trip with Tom to San Juan Basin Health where I learned that Hood Mortuary needs the State's permission to cremate or bury a body.
Then I headed to the cemetery where I was able to witness a cremation with Marvin. Basically they transport the body up to the cemetery where they have a warehouse where they keep caskets and the cremetory. Then they log the body along with the tag number (the tag is made out of steel so it doesn’t melt) and then they put the body into the crematory and burn the body which takes hours to finish.
Later I was able to witness Marvin sewing up a body that had just been autopsied and I also helped prepare the body for an ID viewing by cleaning him. I learned a lot throughout this process about how to sew the skin of a deceased person in order to insure the least amount of leakage possible.
I also got a visit from the lovely Rachael today who was very brave and actually came inside.
Overall today was not only very information but very inspiring. I can't wait to continue my experience here at Hood Mortuary.
March 6, 2013: Day 2
Not Everything is as it Seems
I started out my day by visting the crematory and finishing up the cremation that was started yesterday. Did you know that when a person is cremated their remains don't completely turn to ash? In fact, the remains have to be put into a sort of grinder that seems like a giant food processor. This ensures that no pieces of bone are recognizable and that all of the remains are in "ash" like. But, before the remains could be put into this grinder, we first had to look through them to make sure that nothing metal (such as fake joints or pins) was in the remains.
The next objective I completed was helping to dress a body before her funeral tomorrow. Even though this was a good experience for me, it was a rather sad one, seeing as the girl was 2 years of age. However, I feel like I handled it very well and was able to help Marvin and actually be hands on. This all has been a sort of relief to me knowing that what I have wanted to do for so long hasn't been in vain and that I will actually be able to pursue my passion!
After lunch, the gang headed to the cemetery to deliver a body and casket to a grave site and we all placed the casket onto the grave. Then the gang headed back to Hood while me and Kathy stayed behind for the grave side service. Then the family and close friends of the deceased came and had a beautiful and intimate service where they even played their own music and sang the deceased a song. After they all left we stayed until the casket was in the ground and then we, Kathy and I, headed back to Hood Mortuary.
Then, to top off my day, I sat in on another meeting with Kathy this time and a very nice, yet talkative close friend of the deceased. We discussed urns for the deceased and I found out that there is such a thing as shared urns that are very small versions of urns that can be given to many people. Even though they're small, they are very beautiful and intricate. I can't believe that it has only been three days! I'm loving it here.
March 7, 2013: Day 3!
Daily Updates
It's Not Always Easy...
My day started off very early and very quickly today. Upon my arrival at 7:30 we packed everything into the car and drove to Pagosa for the two year old Carlie June Brown’s funeral. It was such a beautiful funeral. I will admit that I cried a bit and was successful in holding back sobs. Many people brought flowers for Carly and her family and the church was overrun with people searching for seats. I learned that the funeral director actually does a lot more work at funerals than I had anticipated. They have to basically plan and execute the entire funeral, which I thought was the church's responsibility. We even put out the reserved seating signs. Now I know who to thank for a beautiful service next time. When it came time for the burial Ryan and the pastor headed off to the grave while I stayed behind to pack up all the gear to go back to Hood.
After a beautiful drive back to Durango we unpacked all of the gear and went straight to the prep room where I learned a little more about the cosmetic process. I first learned that they add this rose colored tint to the face acting as a dye to give color to the gray spots in the face. I also learned that in order to cover up a blemish, such as a purple bruise, you must first cover it up with its contrasting color. So, for a purple bruise, you would first have to cover it with yellow and then add the flesh color over it to make it look natural. Then you add a little pink colored powder to lighten it up and solidify it. Overall, this makes the skin look alive again and evens out the blemishes so they are not so obvious.
I feel very welcome here at Hood Mortuary and I'm beginning to fit right in. I'm so thankful for this wonderful opportunity and I already feel very enlightened.
March 8, 2013: Day 4
Story Time
Today started out rather slow for a Monday morning. There was not much for me to do at first other than observe paper work being filled out. Then, taking a break from the paper work, Ryan told me a few stories about some of the "crazies" that they have encountered and the reason for their cameras outside. He told me about when a man was angry because his brother's cremains or ashes were not delivered on time. This was mainly because they have to be specially shipped and it usually takes longer than a normal package, and partly because the funeral director who sent them didn't send them off on time. The man was so angry because of this that he came into Hood Mortuary, slamming the door behind him and running up the stairs threatening to beat up Ryan. Amy, the only other worker that day called the police while Ryan locked himself in a small room with the man attempting to break down the door. The police came and put the man in the back of their car to let him cool down. Despite all of this, they were still able to get the ashes in time for the service with help from a family friend.
After my rather slow morning, I sat in on two different family meetings. The first meeting was very short and straight forward because the family was doing a direct cremation with no other services requested. They simply spoke of how the different members of their family were handling the grieving process differently. They told us about a teenage granddaughter who was threatening to light things on fire in order to aid her grieving mind. I suppose if it helps her she may, just as long as she doesn't burn someone's house down. The main piece of information I got out of this rather short meeting was that death certificates cost 20 dollars for the first, and 13 dollars for each additional certificate. Boy, it sure is expensive to die.
The second meeting was not only straight forward, but full of stories once again. The women who had died had lived to be just over 100 years old and had a very rich history as told by her son. He talked about how his dad was in the military, the calvary in fact in the Philippines and how he was only two years old when the war started between the Philippines and Japan. He spoke of how his mom would take half of the rice rations she was given and cook the rice, then take banana leaves and put cooked rice in them and handed them out to the soldiers coming back hoping to get a glimpse of her husband. Little did she know he had already escaped form the death marches in which soldiers were killed in great numbers if they tried to get water or food. Then the Japanese soldiers saw her handing out food to the soldiers and beat her with a bamboo stick until she fell to her knees. She did it four days in a row and had gotten beat everyday. He also spoke of how during this time when his mother was gone, he was taken care of by his sisters who were only 6 and 8 years old and he was 5.
I must say that today provided me with much information that I can potentially use in my human interest paper, and gave me some great insight on the lives of those who walk through the doors of Hood Mortuary.
March 11, 2013: Day 5
Fresh Wounds
Though today was rather slow and uneventful, I realized that I still have much to learn. In the morning I helped with my second (and sort of third) cremation. When we arrived at the warehouse there were remains waiting to be put in the grinder and set in a bag and urn. So after we tied up the plastic bag, put it in the urn, and tied the steel tag to it, we began the cremation process on the body that we brought up with us. This time I felt like I knew what I was doing and I was actually able to help instead of just observe.
After coming back from the warehouse, we had a nice coffee and bagel break. The bagels were the extras from the batch that Hood Mortuary bought the Sheriff's Department as a thanks for working with Hood. They also send "thank you" treats to the cemetery workers, and some of the doctors around town and sometimes the doctor's office staff. How sweet :)
Then, to wrap up my day, I sat in on another family meeting for a women who died early this morning. Her husband and her daughter came in to plan the funeral. They were very quiet and solemn at first but then they became more humorous as they attempted to lighten the mood. They were one of the more obviously hurting families that I have seen so far. I suppose that's because of the rawness of their situation. As we went upstairs to look at urns for her final resting place, I learned that in a cube where the urns are placed at the cemetery that you can place up to two smaller urns inside of them. That way if you want to be near a loved one after you have passed, you don't necessarily need to be buried next to each other, you can also be cremated.
I literally have not stopped learning new things since I have started interning here at Hood Mortuary, and I don't plan to stop. I just can't wait for each new day!
March 12, 2013: Day 6
Quiet Time
My day was rather uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing overall considering what it means to be busy in this industry. First thing in the morning I went up to the crematory to help Marvin with two sets of remains that were waiting to be processed and helped him start another one. I felt like I fit in much more this time because I actually understand the entire process and was able to do a lot of things on my own.
Later this morning, I sat in on a very quick family meeting where a lady came in to finalize the cremation arrangements for her cousin. I thought it was rather sweet that she came in even though she hadn't seen him since they were kids, but she has nothing but fond memories with him. She talked about being partners in crime when they were growing up together.
After much down time of working on my project, Sue taught me how to generally work the phones so if I ever needed to answer a call I would know what to do. Just in case.
Hopefully there will be a little bit more for me to do tomorrow, even if it's just cleaning and organizing.
March 13, 2013: Day 7
How Slow Can You Go?
Today started off much like yesterday, quiet and slow. In fact, there was not much of anything to do all morning long. I went around and checked in on different cremations that were ready to be retrieved and informed Sue of them so she could call the families and let them know. No one new had come in last night, so there was no new cremations or funerals to attend to. So, as my morning dragged on I looked at the random little workings within Mortware with Sue then I headed off to lunch. I took a nice long walk by the river to try to get some blood pumping through my system.
Almost right after I came back a call came in for a lady who died in Mancos. I went with Marvin to go pick her up This was my first retrieval so that was pretty exciting. Plus, the long drive was a nice way to wake up my senses. When we got there the coroner was already there and was looking at her medical history and medicines she was on. Then, about ten minutes after our arrival he released the body with no autopsy so we went to her room and picked her up. While waiting for Marvin to finishing signing the paperwork, I waited in the hallway with the women but was quickly pushed out of the building by the lady in charge so I wouldn't attract the attention of the residents.
With plenty of time to spare when I came back to Hood, I worked on my project. Hopefully I can get past this writer's block!
March 14, 2013: Day 8
Finally! :)
Today was a big day for me at Hood Mortuary! I started off by helping a family who's funeral director is currently out of town, but I sat in on their meeting so I was able to help them. I helped them pick out two sharing urns and filled them with ashes then I sealed both the sharing urns and the main urns with George's help.
Then I was able to embalm today, not just once, but twice! Embalming was an amazing experience for me and I am so glad I was able to do it before my time ended here. I found out that there is more than one area where the embalming can start, and that sometimes, due to clots, it is necessary to go in multiple entry places. What I mean by that is in order to pump the embalming fluid through the body, they have to find an artery to enter in and a vein to help move clots through. The main example that I witnessed today was using the carotid artery and the jugular vein.
First they have to find the artery which is on top of the vein when entering below the collar bone which they cut open just enough to insert the tube into the artery. Then they pump the embalming fluid through while massaging the body to encourage blood flow. Then the insert a sort of sucker tool into the abdomen to drain the excess fluid from the cavity. Then they sew them up and wash out their hair. I was lucky enough to be able to feel around inside the incisions and help with other things throughout the process.
I hope I wasn't too detailed :) But I definitely hope to be able to do it again!
March 15, 2013: Day 9
There is Hope
Today was a nice way to ease back into the week. It wasn't too busy or too slow. In the morning I helped dress two people and set them in their caskets. The first women was mostly done by the time I got in this morning so I mostly helped with final touches and doing her hair. For an older lady she had very nice, healthy hair. The gentleman that I dressed was very easy because he was small and didn't weigh much. I got to use the mechanical lift to move him from the table to the casket just to see how it is used. It was actually very interesting and useful. It had three straps on each side, six straps in total, that connected to three plastic bars and a head strap which lifts the body up and places it down in the casket. A very useful invention indeed.
The rest of my day was mostly uneventful. There were a few families that trickled in unannounced whose family members had arrived at Hood over the weekend. Throughout this process I learned that in reality the workers at Hood must treat every body that comes in very carefully so they don't accidentally catch an infectious disease. I suppose that is simply common sense but it really comes into play when they actually have a body with a dangerous disease that they have to work with.
For the rest of my day I worked on trying to get my mentor interview to publish and I also worked on LINK project.
But, the good news is that there is an autopsy scheduled for Wednesday, so there is a high possibility that I will be able to witness it! I can't wait!
March 18, 2013: Day 10
A Little Here, A Little There
Today was a nice, subtly busy day for me full of small chores. I started out my day by putting informational papers into folders for future costumers about the funeral process as something to not only help out Kathy, but something to keep me busy. Then I finished prepping a gentlemen for his rosary for tonight. I was able to cosmetize him all on my own (with a little supervision and helpful pointers from George of course) and I was even able to glue his eyes shut successfully.
Then, after finishing up in the prep room, I went to watch the front desk for Sue while she was in a meeting. Since Sue had taught me how to work the phones before I was able to answer calls and to put them through to the necessary people. It was nice knowing that I had officially done a little of almost everything around Hood Mortuary and that I was able to do it successfully.
It's so good to know I can help people in many different aspects of this job :)
P.S. Two autopsies scheduled for tomorrow! So excited! It will be a great proffessional experience.
March 19, 2013: Day 11
Why Does This Have to End? :(
Well, it's official. I just witnessed my first two autopsies. The rather odd part is that I enjoyed them very much. Even though I wasn't very hands on and was just visually learning, I had an amazing time. I was surprised to see that I was handeling the situation better then the officer standing as far away from the table as possible.
WARNING: If you don't want to hear about the intimate details of the autopsy process from the perspective of a 17 year old girl, read no further.
The autopsies were about an hour and a half each and the processes which took place in both were nearly identical. Both started off by taking notes about the body on a sheet of paper with a diagram of a body on it. This is just so their notes are very detailed so if they ever have to look back at the case they have a reference point. Then, they take the liquid out of the eyes called aqueous humor with a syringe and placing it in a tube. Then, a normal y-cut was executed and the ribs were cut using a hedge cutter. I thought it was fascinating how the skin needed to be cut and separated from all the muscle and tissue on rib ribs before it could be peeled back but not so much on the stomach where only fat needed to be separated. Then they took samples of the urine and blood from the heart. After the sternum and the base part of the ribs were removed, then all of the organs were cut out of the body in one big piece (all connected by tissue) and placed in between the feet. Then they were all separated and weighed independently. I thought it was interesting that the right and left lung were cut apart and weighed separately. Then, after they had been weighed, the forensic pathologist cut into each of the organs making little slices of that organ so he could get an overall idea of the health of the organ. Through this I was able to observe the gray and white matter of the brain. (The gray lines the outside, the white makes up the inside) I was also able to observe liquid in the lungs in spaces that oxygen was supposed to be present in. After the organs had been cut they were put into a plastic bag which was placed into the empty cavity of the body. I was fascinated by the empty body cavity because I could see the spine and the inside of the leftover ribs with the muscle structure.
Today was a huge day for me. I didn't even have to wear a mask or step out of the room. Good to know I can actually stomach the smell and the sight. I really don't want this to end tomorrow, I'm going to miss it a lot. I'm so thankful for this opportunity and I'm so glad I was accepted here at Hood Mortuary. :)
March 20, 2013: Day 12
The End..
Well, today was officially my last day as an intern here at Hood Mortuary; a very sad day indeed. Although I must say that I feel extremely enlightened, and, perhaps, a little more "grown up" than before. This entire experience has definitely been my favorite high school experience thus far. I actually feel like I am ready to go out into the real world and face it boldly. I think that the LINK program is one of the most beneficial programs a school can offer in terms of real life experience.
Today was mostly just the slowly down, and coming to a halt process in my internship. It wasn't very busy but there was enough going on to keep me moving throughout the day. Most of it was discussing my project and my future at Hood Mortuary with Ryan and what I would need to do in order to continue working with them. I hope to be able to continue my work here because I feel right at home with all the workers and the processes that go on here.
There is a potential job opening that I might be able to apply for, but until then, I will miss this place greatly. Many thanks to everyone who made my dreams become a reality and made sure I made it through! :)
March 21, 2013: Day 13
LINK