Quality above quantity.
I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
41–50 of 337 posts
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#42This article reinforces my view even more. We as a society needs to allow people to end their life in a medical environment and only if they're capable of making the decision on their own in a rational manner. I've witnessed horrible situations where the life is not going to improve and is intolerable for the victim who wants an exit even if it means death. Why do we allow our own selfish desires to have these people…
Agreed. Both at the end of a life, and the start of one. The rationale around abortion tends to follow the same warped logic in my experience :) The subjects are very emotional ofcourse, which makes doing “the right thing” extra hard in the best of circumstances.
They're very different, the parent talks about "when the patient wants death".
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#43What is "the code" in this context? The article masterfully reveals details slowly over time, but I don't want to lean on my own understanding of what that means.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_emergency_codes#Code_... Code blue is not literally used everywhere... many places in the US use a number these days like 99 for "Blue" and then other memorable two digit numbers for more specific, less emergent needs like respiratory support or rapid response. Same thing.
I feel like there's an inherent drift in the slang because part of its job is to not freak out bystanders, but once everyone knows what it means, you need to pivot to new slang.
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#44I recommend this article for another essay on this topic: https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-di... It really boils down to quality over quantity. After all, I'm sure most would choose to die comfortably in their bed after a week rather than in a few months all while in excruciating pain.
I'm not so sure.
I think I'd lean more towards quantity if it were a choice - my kids are very young though so right now I just want to know them for as long as I can.
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#45I have an incurable condition and spent about 3.5 months bedridden before finally getting a proper diagnosis. My condition has a significant respiratory component. While bedridden, I hallucinated wordless conversations with the Grim Reaper. One day, in the landscape of my mind, he rode up to me on a black steed, leaned down and peered into my face, then swirled around and rode off. I ran after him screaming "Don't le…
Wow. Amazing
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There should be laws preventing family members from prolonging the suffering of their loved ones. I can't think of a way to implement a law like that which wouldn't be fraught with horrible problems. Just imagine the misery associated with doctors deciding to "kill people's children," which in fact in some cases would be unjustified. (Nobody can always get it right, not even doctors.)
Assisted suicide has been legal in Canada for a few years now, and there haven’t been many major issues (other than Catholic hospitals refusing to comply with the law). Doctors aren't fools, and won't do it in cases that aren't blatantly acceptable. Most of the scenarios where it is desirable are cut and dry, and we have ethics boards/courts to handle the other circumstances.
Assisted suicide is a completely different thing than "laws preventing family members from prolonging the suffering of their loved ones."
The first gives patients and families more options in how to deal with end of life care, the other takes options away.
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#47I want to go out as a result of a series of violent mistakes trying to save my life. Why would anyone want anything else? Peaceful death is basically suicide. Why do doctors continually perpetuate this notion that slipping softly into death (palliative care, hospice) is preferable to continually trying to avoid it by way of riskier and riskier attempts at treating the root cause? At the very least, we could be honest…
I 100% agree with you. Though everyone should be able to make their own decision and because people are diffrent they will come to diffrent conclusions about what the right path for them is. We should not be trying to impose our path on other people.
That said I'm going to speculate that as a doctor being asked to do long series of futile actions while watching a person die has to be traumatic. So I can understand why many doctors like the idea of palliative care.
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#48Turn the light's out when you're leaving. I want to watch the car park empty. It's easy, when they're strangers. To wave goodbye.
May she rest in peace.
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#49I don't have asthma. My doctor says I have something milder than asthma. I have a puffer, and if you put me in the same room as a rabbit or guinea pig I will be struggling to breathe in about 20 minutes. I've lied awake at night coughing and hearing the accordion-like chorus of my wheezing windpipe. But it's not asthma. It has, however, made me very aware of what it feels like when lungs are not working well.
Nothing scares me worse than death, but idea of my lungs slowly giving out over years is a pretty damned close second.
Re: I Lied When I Said We Did Everything We Could
#50I want to go out as a result of a series of violent mistakes trying to save my life. Why would anyone want anything else? Peaceful death is basically suicide. Why do doctors continually perpetuate this notion that slipping softly into death (palliative care, hospice) is preferable to continually trying to avoid it by way of riskier and riskier attempts at treating the root cause? At the very least, we could be honest…
> I want to go out as a result of a series of violent mistakes trying to save my life.
The problem is that excruciating pain is only obviously better than death if there’s something positive at the end of it.
Otherwise it’s comparable to being tortured 24 hours a day for the rest of your life.