Disability

Oct 24

8

What Ways Can You Die When You’ve Had Enough of Life?

By Althea Halchuck | Advance Directives, ALS, Choice, Dementia, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Grief, Medical Aid in Dying, Mental Illness, POLST, Right-to-Die Laws, Suffering and Death, Suicide, Surrogate, The Right to Die, VSED | 13 Comments

When you believe it’s time to go, what options do you really have? There are more than you you think, without having to resort to a violent ending.

Oct 17

0

I Helped My Friend Judy Navigate Her Exit; It Wasn’t Easy

By Laura Kenig | Choice, Disability, DNR, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Religion, Right-to-Die Laws, Spirituality, Suffering and Death, Suicide, The Right to Die | 5 Comments

How to get a ride in a squad car. “It makes what could be a loving, family affair a secret, clandestine event! Such a shame.”

Oct 10

1

Linguistic Accuracy Was Put to Death; It Wasn’t ‘Euthanized’

By Jay Niver | Choice, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, PAD, Right-to-Die Laws, Suffering and Death, Suicide, The Right to Die | 9 Comments

If you believe the media and ignorant, sanctioned killers, ‘putting down’ healthy animals that have done nothing to deserve an early death is a compassionate, merciful act. After all, they are ‘euthanized.’

Oct 03

3

Is MAiD Compatible with Hospice and Palliative Care? Dr. BJ Miller reflects.

By BJ Miller | Choice, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Medical Aid in Dying, Right-to-Die Laws, Suffering and Death, Suicide, The Right to Die | 3 Comments

A TED Talk star, interviewed by Oprah and featured in N.Y. Times Magazine, opens up to Final Exit Network about Medical Aid in Dying, the state of U.S. healthcare, and how we irrationally fear death.

Sep 12

2

Lillian’s Story: Pride and Prejudice

By Ruth Dixon-Mueller | Choice, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Free speech, Medical Aid in Dying, Right-to-Die Laws, Suffering and Death, Suicide, The Right to Die | 5 Comments

Smart, independent and strong-willed, Lillian blogged openly about her intention to “turn out the lights” in her own time. After it happened, the obituaries did not tell it the way she wanted.

Aug 29

0

That Glorious Last Summer: A Patient Says No to Chemo

By Althea Halchuck | Advance Directives, Choice, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Suffering and Death, The Right to Die | 7 Comments

What do dying people do when friends, family, and healthcare providers urge them not to give up, to “keep fighting” to the last, and to try everything possible to cheat death? Sometimes, they assert their absolute right to decide what’s best – and enjoy one last, glorious summer.

Aug 15

2

Why I Joined Final Exit Network

By Anonymous | Advance Directives, Choice, Dementia, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Mental Illness, Suffering and Death, The Right to Die | 2 Comments

A past experience with his beloved, suffering wife, and a staunch belief to not go down the dementia rabbit-hole, led “Andrew” to join Final Exit Network. Read to find out why.

Aug 08

0

Advance Directives Are Key To EOL Success (Maybe). Take Charge.

By Jim Van Buskirk | Advance Directives, Dementia, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Right-to-Die Laws, Suffering and Death, VSED | One Comment

Despite your best intentions, don’t wait until “five minutes to midnight” to take care of your end-of-life plan.

Aug 01

0

Pets vs. Humans: A Difference In Compassion, And In Knowing What The Patient Desires

By Lamar Hankins | Choice, Dementia, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Medical Aid in Dying, Suffering and Death, Surrogate, The Right to Die | 7 Comments

It’s a pillar of the RTD movement, that we treat our suffering pets more humanely than suffering friends and family members. “Let me die like a dog” has long been a call to compassion. The author went through the agonizing decision to “put down” a beloved canine companion, and he regrets not knowing what “Woody” would have wanted.

Jul 25

2

Surrogate Challenges Can Overwhelm Even An Experienced Hospice RN

By Helen Bauer | Advance Directives, Dementia, Disability, Dying, End-of-life care, Funeral Planning, Grief, Mental Illness, Surrogate | 2 Comments

“Sleep deprivation amplified every emotion and wore me down quickly,” she said. She was exhausted, angry, and felt guilty. She was “flying blind” to be the surrogate as Betty neared death – and she was a trained, experienced hospice RN. What does that say about your chance of being an effective surrogate?