A woman’s terminal cancer diagnosis leads her to organize farewells with loved ones, ensuring her affairs are in order, resulting in what her family calls a “Good Death.”
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“Does the contract allow you to have access to your own doctors? What is the facility’s position on VSED? If you enter hospice, will they commit to providing adequate pain relief? If you live in a state with MAiD, will the facility cooperate?”
“Imagine you are sitting in a serene field with your loved one. The sun is shining and you feel happy. Then imagine later that day, being told that your loved one is ill or worse, the condition is life-limiting. The future of that morning suddenly has a very different outlook, and your priorities understandably change, with a re-prioritization of both your physical and emotional world.”
“Many of the individuals around the bedside barely know each other, and this becomes an environment of misinformation, mistrust, and hidden agendas about substantial financial and estate issues … as ex-wives and ex-husbands, half siblings who never knew each other, long-time same-sex partners (surprise, who knew?), in-laws, out-laws show up at the bedside.” — Dr. Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
“This committed couple who loved each other through life’s ups and downs were separated when Pat breathed her final breath.”
“The legal method I suggest most for a dignified and peaceful death is to stop all treatments, especially antibiotics.”
“New legislation and court judgments are further expanding access to MAID, some bringing new and different twists.”
“Whose wishes for his medical treatment were we to honor? Those of my father back when he was a healthy, highly functioning geneticist? Or those of the simpler, weakened man my father had become?”
“If these five reasons don’t make a strong enough case for physicians to engage with their patients in advance care planning, here’s one more: it is simply the right thing to do.”
“I have the privilege to learn and hear interesting perspectives, along with all the questions and comments that our community members have, on the topics of death and dying. Here are a few insights I have gleaned from these discussions.”
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