News, Hospitals Giving 'Death Test' to Seniors (beach, best, boy)
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An aside, but relevant to this thread: Dr. Atul Gawande's latest book, Being Mortal, is fantastic reading. Anyone who has the slightest interest in end-of-life care and how we can improve life for the aging should pick up a copy ASAP.
An aside, but relevant to this thread: Dr. Atul Gawande's latest book, Being Mortal, is fantastic reading. Anyone who has the slightest interest in end-of-life care and how we can improve life for the aging should pick up a copy ASAP.
And he is featured in a PBS "Frontline" documentary presented this week and available to stream online next week at pubs.org/frontline
It looks like it covers exactly what this thread has been discussing.
Yes; the media -- and this administration, which seems to tell it what to do -- is really pushing the "duty to die" thing.
Utter nonsense, it has been driven the other way around as people want more control over the end of their lives. All the "death with dignity" proposals have been pushed by citizens - not government or insurance lobbies.
Yes; the media -- and this administration, which seems to tell it what to do -- is really pushing the "duty to die" thing.
"this administration…" eh.... I seem to recall George W. Bush flying from his ranch in Waco back to Washington DC in order to sign a bill that had been passed by Congress to SPECIFICALLY PROHIBIT the husband of Terri Schiavo from terminating her life support despite her previously expressed wishes. The Republican leader of the Senate, Bill Frist, himself a physician, had told his Senate colleagues that Ms. Schiavo was "far from a vegetative state." This despite the fact that he never directly examined her and only watched a video tape. A federal court soon struck down the law and she was allowed to die. An autopsy revealed that she had extensive atrophy of the brain which would have made it impossible for her to have any cognitive function.
All government at all levels need to "butt out" of these matters and leave the decision to patients, their families and their physicians.
In her 80's my mother also suffered from congestive heart failure and had a calcified aortic valve. The heart surgeon was eager to replace it. I protested because of her age and he said, "I just replaced one in a 92 year old lady this morning." Our family and my mother reluctantly agreed to the surgery, but her results from the procedure can only be described as the prolongation of suffering. I have felt guilty for years that I did not stand up to her doctors--all of whom collected a hefty fee for their efforts. I found out later from a family member that the 92 year old lady never made it out of intensive care.
Honest end of life consultation and care is needed badly in this country.
One of 'these guys' (the MD who did the surgeries) is my greatest fear and I am only 62! Just because they can, doesn't mean they should. There is a saying in Nursing that all of us say or think, "We treat our pets better." It is the absolute truth or was until Veterinary Medicine got so high fallutin' that they now have Oncology DVMs and put the pets through chemotherapy they don't ask for or understand.
More people, of ALL ages, need to have The Talk with their loved family members BEFORE something happens and they don't know what to do or what Mom/Dad/Child would want. There are both Palliative Care and Hospice specialties in every State and Hospital these days, tho' I feel even more could and should be done as far as a peaceful end of life care experience goes...for both the patient and the families. Still having those talks is the BEST way and the sooner the better.
I'm all for opting out of medical care if that's your own TRUE choice. In fact, I assiduously avoid the doctor myself (they do more harm than good these days, IMO) and would *never* opt for cancer treatment beyond simple excision; I firmly believe that both chemo and radiation kill more people than they save. However, that's MY choice. How many senior feel pressured by doctors (most of whom are followed blindly by patients cowed by authority), society, or even their own children -- not wanting to bankrupt the estate or "be a burden" -- to forego treatment that they in fact have ever right to should their wish be to pursue it?
The potential for coercion, age discrimination, and even the much-ridiculed slippery slope is very real and far too great to play around with. Continuing to live beyond a certain age will soon be considered the greatest act of selfishness and indignity. In a youth-worshipping culture, elders better be aware...
Oh goody, my final test, one which I hope I don't pass...
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