Today is my birthday! In honor of my birthday, I am posting photos from my birthday of 2 years ago, where I decided to host what I dubbed a birthday-wedding-funeral because I had a funeral planning client named Megan who would go through the funeral planning process with me and say that she would so much rather have this party now, while she is still alive, and that convinced me that I should do the same.

So I rented a tent in the Woodlands Cemetery, which is one of my favorite cemeteries in Philly (you can often see me taking a run through it because it is right by my house), and invited all my friends! I made it into a celebration of friendship, had one of my best friends' bands play a live set, and asked people to give my eulogy, or any speech about how they would remember me and what I have meant to them. I always say to people that it's not a bad thing to allow people to celebrate you: in fact, we love celebrating people! And I felt so incredibly loved that so many people from all across the country came to my birthday-wedding-funeral.

(Funny story: I was recently at a wedding where a friend of a friend had been to another wedding where my friend Canaan, pictured in slide 4, was talking about my "funeral" and then when this friend of a friend saw me at this wedding recently, he came up to me with this crazed, incredulous look on his face and said "Isabel!!! I thought you were DEAD!!!")

For my birthday this year, I am not hosting a huge party but instead making a humble ask.

This year I am embarking on one of my biggest adventures yet. Me and a bunch of my death doula friends, inspired by the Omega Home model (see a few of my previous posts and highlights for more info on Omega Homes) are going to open an Omega Home of our very own!

Many people don't know that hospice doesn't provide 24-hour care; they generally assume you have an unpaid family caregiver at home to take care of you. But not everyone has someone in their life who can provide that care, and so Threshold House would be there to fill the gap and provide nonmedical care for people on hospice for anyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

Right now we are at the point where we incorporated and got our 501(c)(3) status earlier this year, and are now in the process of fundraising and looking for a house to rent for our initial pilot! (Many Omega Homes get their houses donated to them or rented to them for $1/month, so please please please, if you know of anyone in Philly who has an accessible home, ideally with 2-3 rooms that can be made into bedrooms on the first floor, who might be willing to donate their home to this cause, please reach out to me at 203-644-6031!)

It would mean the world to me if you would consider donating to get this venture off the ground as it is so sorely needed.

Isabel's Birthday Threshold House Fundraiser