Most view dementia as a person leaving them. But they’re not. They’re evolving into a new person, similar but not exact. Their capacity to perform tasks and retain memory of recent events doesn’t disqualify them from continuing to be loved and treated with dignity and respect, especially when the end is near.
With the assistance of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies and Exit International, I surveyed voluntary assisted dying (VAD) advocates and supporters around the world to inject some much-needed data and objectivity into the VAD debate.
“They made the end of his life horrible and painful and humiliating,” Elaine Greenberg said. “What’s the sense of having a living will if it’s not honored?”
A “good” death is one in which you exert maximum autonomy over your end-of-life journey. Here are some checklists for what needs to be done.
Unconscious, Michael lingered for hours. His waiting children had no one to call for advice, but Michael had left instructions for this eventuality. Sobbing, his son Bill lovingly carried out his father’s wishes.
Recognizing the importance of psychosocial factors to those considering a hastened death led FEN to more explicitly recognize the importance of psychosocial factors when evaluating an applicant’s medical records. By making psychosocial factors more explicit in our criteria, we honor what truly matters to those who reach out to us.
“It’s no secret that wage gaps, discrimination and institutional racism limit Black Americans’ access to health equity. However, what’s discussed a lot less frequently is that these factors impact the way this group experiences death, too.”
After he died, Jean and her sister both looked at one other and said, “That’s how I’m going to die.”
“Last words—it doesn’t happen like the movies. That’s not how patients die.” — Bob Parker
Changes to Bill C-7 (Canada) have released people with dementia from a cruel trap by letting them make provisions in advance to end their lives.
