“Having a sense of the possibilities in advance is essential to minimize surprises, make specific requests for end-of-life symptom management, and decide the possible paths available to you.”
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“Do you ever worry about your own death, feel that life is too short, or dread the day you will lose someone you care about? You are not alone.”
“In my experience of interviewing hundreds of families from all different cultural backgrounds for over a quarter of a century, I can tell you this – those who loved well at the end never, ever regret it.”
“Try to cherish that last goodbye. That one last opportunity to connect with your loved one while still earthly creatures. They are saying their last goodbyes, with love in their hearts.”
“Question: Are you able to face death with your friend or do you bail?”
“Your mother didn’t choose a terminal illness. She only chose not to let the disease pick when and how she would die.”
“We live in a culture that’s intensely driven by productivity, accomplishments, and academic achievements. In doing this, we’ve forgotten about our wise ones, the storytellers, the original wisdom keepers, the Elders.”
“What is fundamentally the difference between a doctor pulling a plug on a machine that provides lifesaving nutrients to a person that could potentially stay ‘alive’ on it for years, and a doctor prescribing pills to a person with mere days or months to live to end their unnecessary suffering?”
“I was reluctant to force the issue. What remained unsaid came with its own set of consequences.”
“‘Don’t let the patient die’… is that the right thing or the wrong thing for a given patient? It is time for physicians to think that through more completely and allow, perhaps, a different answer.”
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