Of course, doctors don’t want to die; they want to live. But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits. And they know enough about death to know what all people fear most: dying in pain, and dying alone. They’ve talked about this with their families. They want to be sure, when the time comes, that no heroic measures will happen—that they will never experience, during their last moments on earth, someone breaking their ribs in an attempt to resuscitate them with CPR (that’s what happens if CPR is done right).
Monday, January 16, 2012
In case you wondered ...
... How Doctors Die - Zócalo Public Square.
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as for me, I want every available measure used...Frank you are a witness in case my wife dithers...
ReplyDeleteActually, I made a pledge in my ethics class in college (Thomistic ethics) that I would not take extraordinary means to preserve my life (no ethical obligation to do that; just can't directly take my own). Now that I have reached the Biblical age, my top priority in life is preparing myself for its endgame. I told my wife once that if she came home and found me unconscious on the floor to go out and have dinner at a nice restaurant, then check on me later.
ReplyDeleteButI your comment will be archived and I promise that if I can I will remind your wife of your wishes.
My father, a doctor, very much died that way: with conscious intent and clear purpose. He went home, and was in Hospice care for a week, till he died. It was peaceful, and exactly what he wanted. No heroic measures.
ReplyDeleteDitto for me.