physician assisted suicide

[scottyg]

Welding supply stores.

[rehab1]

..... wonder about your comments CRguy, since you have experienced end of life with your MIL recently at a 'care home'....time and time again this happens with what your MIL experienced....see it over and over again...which begs some questions about how families prolong the life of their loved ones when their loved ones so often say ' I want to go '. (not saying you did this! ) ... they are sent to hospital for hydration / they are given tons of antibiotics, pills ( when they probably wouldn't want it ) / they are 'force fed' by family members up until the resident may figure out to clench their teeth every time food or drink comes their way / they are given hi nutrition drinks (ensure etc. ) / etc. . talking mostly about seniors here ... this all is just plain abhorrent to say the least. A lot of it has to do with the guilt of family members not doing enough for their loved ones....this is sad if the person just wants go and they can go peacefully...morphine often keeps them comfortable. So why was it that your MIL lasted 'so long' ? just wondering cause of what you say about her being palliative etc. ?

[CRguy]

Just the opposite my friend...about the family wanting to "keep her going"....They would have done anything to be able to help her leave.

M-I-L was able to breathe, swallow, BE moved ( not able to herself ) but basically non-responsive for +/-2 years. TWO YEARS ! Finally unable to swallow, difficult breathing and in pain with ANY manipulation. The family forced the "system" to cease all interventions, pain meds and sedation only, and refused interventions for artificial feeding etc.etc.etc.!!!!!! She was 91 and had not been "here" for 2-3 years. She had total dementia and mental failure. She had a very strong physical constitution and heart. A very bad combination as it turns out.

There was never any effort on the family's part to prolong, intercede or artificially maintain existence. The family was adamant about comfort, pain control, agitation. I have not described the actual events of the last week of her life. Suffice it to say : you yourself would not have wanted to be there, yet the family was with her 24/7 until she passed.

The whole point of my posts revolve around just this exact scenario : someone wants to let go, law says NO, family says...well really doesn't matter because if the docs and lawyers say NO...then you stay, in a vegetative state until a very tragic and unimaginable demise.

In this circumstance, those who cannot speak and act for themselves... NEED to have representation to enact their OWN wishes about their OWN life.

End of discussion.... JMO.

Cheers
CRguy

[alphagam]

This is something I truly struggle with. I was blessed with only a Stage 0 diagnosis, but even that scare was enough to get my mind going. My FIL had a massive heart attack 18 mos ago, was kept on life support until my husband's brother finally understood that letting FIL "go" was the best thing. MIL with profound dementia, was found to have lung cancer. My BIL refused oxygen and hospice because she had the right to live. She died gasping for breath and in severe pain. My own mother chose a plan that consisted of 18-24 Immodium a day and to eat all the crap she wanted. Colon ruptured and she was in agony for 36 hours.

Anyway, I have trouble taking pills now, as a seemingly healthy person. If I ever get to the point of assisted suicide, I would need euthanasia. Not gonna happen here in Texas, and hospice hear means a hospital bed in your house with family. I do not want to die at home. The choice though, is not mine.

[done]

Anyway, I have trouble taking pills now.

Just want to mention... several have mentioned taking pills as part of PAS, and the difficulty of that, but the protocol in Washington and Switzerland is to dissolve the medicine in liquid so one drinks it. (Not that that will help in non-PAS states--and yep, Texas will be the last to do anything, even legalize medical MJ.)

There are a couple of helpful books on the subject. Final Exit is written by the guy who started the Hemlock Society; there is a scond edition that was just recently revised. The Peaceful Pill Handbook, associated with Exit International, runs through various options. The Best Way to Say Goodbye is about voluntary refusal of food and drink.

I know this is said so often it is merely trite, but I would never let my beloved dogs die a prolonged miserable death. Why should I be forced to?

[CRguy]

For those who know about, or have access to ( sorry, but I couldn't find any links for an online article ) the recent issue of ZOOMER* magazine, November 2012 ( Vol. 28 No. 8 ) there is an article detailing exactly some of the issues we have been discussing here. The recent Canadian/British cases are cited and reference is made to the 2009 Washington (state) Death With Dignity Act, and a public article by Ken Murray, M.D. How Doctors Die : It's not like the rest of us, but it should be.

((* FYI : ZOOMER is a Canadian publication, the official sibling of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (C.A.R.P.) which is being positioned as a major lobby group for the benefit and protection of Zoomers .... Boomers with zoom ..... expounding their mandate of a New Vision of Aging ))

[rehab1]

unfortunately have seen /see this many times as you describe....even in the last weeks/days of one's life....very tough on families and yes the physical constitution and heart is what make people last ( and pace makers ); what one wonders is the whole make up of medicines (a marvellous industry in care homes ), trips to the hospitals, and so many things done to the elderly to keep them alive whereas, let them live respectfully but as well die respectfully i.e. few meds / keep them where they are etc. ...look back at perhaps 50 years ago, as one got older there wasn't the infinite care that's out there today...well, one's life just came to an end as one became older ( was that naturally then? think so)....of course at what stage ( age ) does one think about less med's / hospital trips / etc.
see people in their 90's go for major surgeries and often end up dying because of it, plus the agony the person has to go through to receive surgery...tip of the ole hat to you CRguy for being there til the end even though you woulda wanted it different as well good for you to advocate for your MIL for pain control and comfort only ... there are some very sad cases where families do exactly the opposite.

[alphagam]

So many, including my family, think comfort care includes feeding, etc. I have done everything that the State of Texas allows to make sure that my wishes are followed. Doesn't mean that those wishes will be followed, though. I just truly believe that there should be the same option for me as there was for my beloved Sadie, a cat. I'm healthy today, but I'm sore from my workouts at the gym. That is NOT what I'm talking about. When it's time, I think we know. When it's time, I want to go on my own terms.

[Laurettas]

I have avoided commenting on this topic due to the situation in my home right now, with Jake dying and needing much care, but I want very much to give my opinion. This part of the article is one thing that concerns me greatly:

Whom does legalizing assisted suicide really benefit? Well-off, well-educated people, typically suffering from cancer, who are used to controlling everything in their lives — the top 0.2 percent. And who are the people most likely to be abused if assisted suicide is legalized? The poor, poorly educated, dying patients who pose a burden to their relatives.

I think if you look into the situation in those countries that have legalized assisted death for a number of years, you will see the exact thing I quoted occurring. Hundreds of people each year are euthanized without their, and often, their family's permission. I am sure it is primarily the poor experiencing this.

I am against legalizing this for that reason but also basically from the perspective SkiFletch is talking about. We can at any time take our own lives by a variety of means, using totally legal items. There is absolutely no need to codify a "right to die". We have that at every moment of our lives except for the very few cases of total incapacitation, which can be taken care of on a case by case basis.

Also, we don't know when someone is going through what may seem like a horrible experience but it is necessary to make the transition into the next life. Jake is very ready to be in heaven but is fighting the dying process. He is quite agitated at times and wants his death to be NOW but that is not happening. I trust that there is a very good reason for that, whether for himself or for someone else, I don't know. It is all extremely hard on me, I am exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally most of the time, but it was his request to stay at home so I am honoring it. When my time comes, do I want to do it this way? No, I don't. I don't want to put others through this because it is extremely difficult. I will want to be in the care of those trained to handle these situations and the the proper equipment for the task.

[lohidoc]

Sure can. Argon would work great too, easy to find both.

Many of you will know where I stand. Helium will be my choice, and it will have the added benefit of my loved ones killing themselves laughing as they hear my final words.

Eiher that or setting myself on fire in front of Roche headquarters, on CNN primetime. Not as much fun though.

[done]

Eiher that or setting myself on fire in front of Roche headquarters, on CNN primetime. Not as much fun though.