All Cards On The Table

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“This is a specially designed card game intended for people of all ages and health conditions to be used to encourage open conversation and communication about the end-of-life period and decision making. There is no correct answer. The purpose is to determine what feels right and meaningful to each individual.”
Orit Goldstein

A discussion about death can be challenging. Often, the subject of death is considered taboo.

“This is a specially designed card game intended for people of all ages and health conditions to be used to encourage open conversation and communication about the end-of-life period and decision making.

There is no correct answer. The purpose is to determine what feels right and meaningful to each individual.

All about YOUR priorities on end-of-life period

A discussion about death can be challenging. Often, the subject of death is considered taboo.

However, its importance and effects are immense.

We prepare ourselves for all the important events in life; education, relationships, births, careers, and others.

However, most people do not prepare themselves for the discomfort, the fears, and the anxiety that cause us to avoid this topic.

The moment we open the discussion about death and the surrounding issues, we recognize the importance of making decisions that match our expectations regarding our final wishes. We must encourage the patients to live the best lives they can up until their demise.

 

The All Cards on the Table game offers a useful way to create an open conversation about end-of-life situations. The cards help make choices and prioritize the critical issues to the patient, enabling the patient to take responsibility for all end-of-life decisions.

Playing with family, close friends or members of the medical staff gives the participants an informed idea of how to offer support and help when needed.

Open communication enables the release of tensions and helps to meet what is needed.

Each packet of All Cards on the Table contains 46 cards. Forty-five of them describe the needs and preferences which pertain to end-of-life matters. The last card is blank and can be written to express any matter of importance that is not mentioned in the other cards.

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Keren Arfi, Oncologist Nurse, specializing in Clinical Palliative Care
Before she passed away, my good friend found the subject of the upcoming death difficult to discuss. As a palliative caretaker and a close friend, I found it hard not to talk to her about death and its meanings. Thanks to the cards, this conversation was possible. She could think, chat, and absorb the issue until she could talk about it with her family and friends that were not aware of her feelings up to that moment. During the days before her death, the cards functioned as a will, a tool for dealing with the days after. Thanks to the cards, we got to know my good friend deeper than ever, even during her last days.
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Gina Stein-Sharf, Geriatrician, and Thanatologist
During my encounters with Anat, we talked a lot about her end-of-life wishes, and especially about her girls that would not talk about the subject. “You’re talking nonsense,” “we will fight this illness together,” “we won’t hear about it,” - were only a part of the things that Anat would hear from the girls each time she tried mentioning it. I suggested meeting the girls and playing “Cards on the Table” with them. The result was immediate and significant. Anat's girls discovered the importance of talking with their mother at the end of her life and the importance of communicating between themselves. They found that while worrying so much about their mother, they didn’t have time to think about their needs and desires. The game enabled them to get to know their sisters and mother, just before her death. This game is a must for families dealing with these difficult circumstances.
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Dr. Dana Pe’er, Geriatrician and Dementia specialist. Managing Committee member and treasurer of TMICHA support foundation.
Talking about what's important to a person at the end of their lives is usually very difficult. Only a few manage it freely and spontaneously. Even those who agree to talk about end-of-life concerns find it hard to express their needs. The Cards provide an accessible beginning point for these kinds of discussions.