00:00Not all bodies, but a good amount of bodies need tissue builder.
00:05It is lovely to help with building out faces such as sunken in temples, eyes, even lips.
00:13It's like a Botox for the deceased.
00:18My name is Miranda. I'm a mortician here at Millward Funeral Directors in Lexington, Kentucky.
00:24This is the entrance to Millward's, our casket showroom.
00:28Walnut, hickory, maple, I mean all kinds.
00:32This room is our visitation room. We call this our music room.
00:36What I'm sitting on is an antique.
00:38This is a casket beer. It's made for casketed bodies.
00:44This is our embalming room. This is an absolutely sacred place and no one is allowed in here without authorization.
01:00This is Miranda. She is just at a hospital over at Baptist, so that would be a pretty simple removal.
01:07I don't mind going by myself.
01:13Right now I'm going to Baptist to pick up a decedent who has just expired.
01:21When I was in mortuary school, I learned about death care, but now that I'm working in a funeral home,
01:28I have learned more about the process of grief.
01:30I believe that my job has given me strength that I didn't know I was going to have.
01:37When I first realized what death was, I was scared.
01:44I would lay in bed, think about death, and it was like this black hole.
01:50It was anxiety.
01:53My feelings on death have affected my feelings on life.
01:57I really do live every day like maybe I'll die when I'm washing my hair and putting myself together.
02:02I'm like, well, if I was in a car wreck, it could just be cut off any time.
02:08Everything is so small in life, and you really realize the big picture when you're faced with death, like how
02:14simple and sweet life can be.
02:20I believe that women in the death industry are the change we need in funeral service.
02:28For a long time, it was a men-driven business, and having women in this field, it's lightening the load
02:38for these grieving families.
02:48It was winter like a cancer.
03:02Embalming makes me feel like an artist more than a scientist.
03:06Yes, I know my anatomy, yes, I know what these chemicals are doing, but it has everything to do with
03:12art after that.
03:16An average embalming from start to finish for me takes anywhere from an hour and a half
03:21to two hours.
03:22I look at the deceased and think, wow, after everything they've done on earth, it just
03:28must be amazing to be having the answers that they've finally been given.
03:37I might even talk to them sometimes.
03:39They haven't talked back yet.
03:53Cosmetics for the deceased really aren't like the ones we buy in stores.
03:58The ones we buy in stores are going to react to the warmth of your skin.
04:01That's why we use special cosmetics.
04:04For the ladies, I like to use more of an opaque makeup.
04:12After I do cosmetics on a body and dress a body, I look at that body in the casket and
04:16think, maybe this is how you look in the afterlife.
04:19I hope that's what families take away from what I do as well.
04:23That they can have that image of their loved one enjoying whatever's next.
04:29I think green burial is lovely and cremation is also an option.
04:35There's so many options for cremation, which I think is a good thing.
04:41But I also obviously think embalming is beneficial for the viewing process.
04:47Viewing is number one priority.
04:50This beautiful pink and white casket has been very popular with our little elderly ladies.
04:56Even if it's just you coming in and spending a minute with your loved one, I think it's
05:01so important to view the body.
05:05When I die, I would like my makeup look to be like my everyday look.
05:10My lipstick will be a bright red.
05:12Preferably Ruby Woo from MAC.
05:15The brighter the better.
05:17I feel like I've gained a positive outlook on death more than a fear.
05:24I'm not afraid of the dead body.
05:26I'm not afraid of touching the dead body.
05:28I'm not afraid of cleaning up.
05:31I'm not afraid of just being a comfort to someone that most people would be afraid to comfort.
05:37If someone dies and I'm there, I will absolutely and honestly take care of your loved one as
05:47though you were taking care of them.
05:51I will give them the love that you will give them.
05:54I will make sure that whatever happens to them happens with respect and dignity.
06:00I just hope that people can take away that death doesn't have to be a negative experience.
