Dr. Delia
My Story
Like many families, my family has faced the complexity of long illness, medical decisions, and the emotional strain that comes with loving someone who is suffering with a serious medical condition.
When my father’s health declined, we had honest conversations about life, death, and dignity. We created a legacy project to honor him, and did our best to balance his independence with our concern for his wellbeing.
It was both painful and beautiful.
This experience, and the grief that I experienced after his death, reshaped my understanding of what it really means to care for, and about, someone who is seriously ill.
I learned that caregiving is never just a medical act - it’s an act of love, endurance, and meaning-making.
This deepened my commitment to helping people with an ill loved one navigate the experience of caregiving with clarity, self-compassion, open eyes and an open heart.
My Work
As a physician, I've sat with thousands of families at the hardest moments of their lives. I've guided them through decisions about treatment, conversations about dying, and the overwhelming reality of caring for someone with a serious illness.
I've seen some families stay connected and strong, while others struggled, argued, and felt disconnected.
I saw a pattern.
The caregivers who coped the best weren't the ones who sacrificed everything for their loved one.
They were the ones who learned how to hold space for themselves as they cared fiercely for their person.
They set boundaries. They tended to their own needs. They asked for help.
This allowed them to show up to caregiving as their very best self.
Why I Created The Heart Path
The typical advice that caregivers get simply doesn't work.
"Take care of yourself!"
"Don't forget to rest!"
"You can't pour from an empty cup!"
These platitudes don't help when you're drowning.
What caregivers actually need is:
- Practical tools that work in real life
- A framework for navigating the chaos
- Community with people who understand
- Expert guidance from someone who's been there
- Permission to be human
That's why I created The HEART Path.
It's not theory. It's what actually works, drawn from my years of clinical practice and my own lived experience as a caregiver.
THE HEART PATH
A framework that teaches caregivers how to:
• Hold space for yourself (without guilt)
• Explore the emotions (yours and theirs)
• Act on what really matters to you
• Reinforce your boundaries
• Tend to your nervous system
The HEART Path helps caregivers reclaim their well-being so they can care wholeheartedly for their loved one without abandoning themselves.
My Approach
I believe:
Caring for someone with serious illness is soul work. You don't have to sacrifice yourself to show up for your person. You can care fully for your loved one while you also care meaningfully for yourself.
My work is grounded in:
- Evidence-based medicine and integrative approaches
- Honest, realistic conversations (no toxic positivity)
- Respect for your autonomy and limits
- Practical tools you can actually use
I don't give advice that assumes you have unlimited time, energy, or emotional capacity.
Beyond The Credentials
When I'm not working, you'll find me: making multimedia art, traveling, cuddling with my dog, hanging out with friends & family, listening to an audiobook, studying Italian and ASL, or sitting on my porch listening to my backyard birds.
What I'm passionate about:
- Putting good into the world
- Changing how we talk about serious illness and death
- Dogs
- Coffee
- Learning new things
- Connecting deeply with other people
- Being authentic (with a touch of sarcasm)
Caregiver Clarity Kit
A guide for caregivers who don't have much time, but want to stop feeling like they’re drowning and start feeling like the strongest, calmest version of themselves.