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Hemlock Society & Foundation of Florida

I worked for Hospice as a CNA and during that time the patients I took care of were very comfortable (that is why Hospice came into being), between the Drs, nurses, cna's, social workers, pastoral staff and family, the patients are seldom alone and without tender loving care. I didn't encounter any tremendous suffering b/c of the types of pain meds that is administered to keep the patient comfortable.

Another comforting post from someone that knows. thank you.

You are very welcome.

My mom's end was very peaceful. I had never seen anyone die before.

When my father died, we had all just left the hospital and arrived home, only to get a phone call that he had passed. Nowadays, staff is much more responsive to the family's needs as well as the patient's needs. But, that's the difference between 1969 and 2003.

If I could, I would have kept her forever......and after she was "gone" I kept thinking of the comfort care as "deyhdration" with the stoppage of fluids.......both of us would get very dry mouths...and think about Mom.

I understand it all much better now, in this place and time.

Truthfully, no one can live forever.........so make the most of all of our days while here.........

There really is no governmental intrusion into your decision to die, other than statutes that may make suicide illegal which are difficult to prosecute post mortem, the government instead makes it illegal for some else to assist you. While this may seem to be a distinction without a difference what the law does is regulate other people. It is what got Kevorkian in jail for many years. Of course the difficulty is that by the time you'd want someone to assist you with dying, you may be too incapacitated to kill yourself. I'd agree that the laws need revision as we can't all travel to Oregon or the Netherlands. Hospice is a wonderful option, but to ask the obvious question.. If we as a society have established by law and even with Medicare coverage, that a person at the end of life can either in home or at a facility get high dose pain relief which may accelerate death slightly and provide pain control then why can't we allow any doctor to accelerate death under the same circumstances without the Hospice process in accordance with a living will

p.s. Re the morphine.........Morpheus was the Greek God of "sleep" and that's about how it was.......she peacefully slept away..........they did have a small oxygen tank next to her bed........I asked "why?" and the R.N. said to ease her breathing.......as she passed. At first they gave me a certain spacing between the morphine shots they would be administering........but I noticed in the last several hours, they decreased the space between the shots......so they came more frequently. My mom had such a strong heart, etc...........that left to her own devices, she might have lived longer.........even without the water, which they say you can go 7 days without.

Afterwards, they let us stay in the room while we waited for the undertaker to arrive (this is a small town and everyone knows everyone, so we knew the R.N., we knew the doctor, we knew the undertaker, etc.)..............two of the young "aides" had asked permission to bathe my mom..........and wanted me to watch. Her skin was as unblemished as a baby........pink and white. Amazing for 91 year old.

After that day, I would dream of her as a very happy "younger version" of herself and I felt her spirit was truly free and she was happy.........death is nothing to fear.

One of the best documentaries I have ever watched is on YouTube and it is called, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die. Make sure to choose the full documentary version. The documentary has actually won some awards.

Sir Terry Pratchett is a British Author who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He follows the journey of two men, one with ALS and the other with MS. He does a good job at documenting both sides of the equation.

Please note, the end does document an assisted death in Switzerland and many might not want to watch, but I think Sir Terry comes up with a great closing and allows the viewer to make up their own mind. Lots of good points to ponder in this documentary, both good and bad.

Katie

Everything you say is true, I have witnessed it myself in my own family and while working at Hospice. I had 4 patients in nursing homes that (both) were young (mid 40's and early 50's)at the time that hospice was initiated by the Dr. and were still living a 4+ years later b/c of the great care they received from Hospice and the staff at the nursing home. I'm a big advocate of Hospice.

The movie "Soylent Green" had it right. If you havent seen it, do so, it was the last movie that Edward G Robinson acted in.

My mother suffered a major stroke 10 days before Xmas in 1994 and she lingered for 6 days in a "brain dead" state with no chance of recovery. It was heartbreaking for the family.
For several years prior, she would quietly raise the issue with me that if she ever got to a point where she was medically "wired for sound", I was to obey the wishes of her Living Will and let her pass without suffering. As difficult as it was, my brother and I knew that it was her wish for the medical team not to rescusitate and to keep her comfortable. I don't think we could have done that without her expressing her wishes prior to her stroke.

You are 100 percent correct.

It's the place to be at the end. I have friends of my age whose daughters trained to be hospice workers and they are very dedicated.

I also know a few young moms who wanted to stay "at home" so the husbands got hospital beds and put them in the living room..........

Hospices are set up to look very "homey" so I would have no qualms having myself or a loved one there......

It's an individual choice for everyone........but "end of life" care is NOT what it used to be in the 1960's or 1970's.......they really are angels of mercy and compassion.

My mother had also signed the same thing with her living will.
After a decade with Alzheimers and 18 months approximately in close to the end stage of it........why resuscitate? She couldn't walk, talk, and at the end she couldn't swallow. But right to the end, until she lost her speech, she had her LONG TERM MEMORY and thought she was a little girl and remembered her dad's name (he died in 1919), her mom's name, etc. but nothing else..........

Soylent Green! Wow! Hadn't thought of this movie in years, but I remember that scene, and it always seemed like a such a great option. Think I'm going to watch it again. :mademyday:

Unfortunately, I have had some first hand family knowledge of the Right to Die question. My Mother, who was a brilliant woman, was diagnosed with cancer and somehow or other found out how many "pills" she needed to have on hand to end her suffering. As her cancer metastasized and the pain became impossible for her to handle, she took her pills and unfortunately was found by a kind neighbor who grew concerned when she did not see her the next morning. She was found in a coma and kept alive for a month, until my sister (a senior RN) finally convinced the hospital to "pull the plug".

Now my sister, who also has her pills, has disappeared into the black hole called dementia. She probably has no idea now of taking any pills to ease her way out of this world. She is a widow and has no children. Her attorney is her executor and has arranged to have her taken care of in her own home until it is no longer safe to leave her alone.

So you have two scenarios where the person in question has tried to provide for their right to die with dignity and been unable to do so. How much better it would be if we had a legal right to die with dignity.