Random
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Assisted suicide and euthanasia

Whether you agree or disagree with assisted suicide it is a subject nearly everyone has an opinion about. I won't get into the legalities of the terms . Assisted suicide, passive euthanasia, active euthanasia, involuntary euthanasia. But I am talking about ending ones life when no chance a cure or or recovery is possible. I am also not talking about DNR orders , Do Not Resuscitate orders. But about ones right to chose when they will die when faced with a terminal or degenerative and or incurable illness.

If you have ever watched someone you love suffer and die from any of the numerous terminal illnesses that plague or world today you would probably support it as well. I have had the unfortunate luck of watching far to many of my family and friends expire from a variety of these maladies. Both of my parents, three of my grandparents,, aunts and uncles, cousins, a nephew, and several close friends have suffered through painful, body and mind altering conditions. That would leave them a shell sometimes almost unrecognizable , of a human being. Lung cancer, brain cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, AID S, lupus, and several other terminal illnesses. But the one that that affected me the most was witnessing the slow, unforgiving , unrelenting, degenerative disease of Parkinson's . Over a period of up to 15 yrs or more it picks away at your muscle control , and your motor skills. Eventually making it impossible to do anything for yourself. Unable to talk, walk, write, feed yourself, use the restroom etc,etc regressing to an almost infantile like state. I watched my grandfather slowly consumed by the affects of this disease and it is truly heart breaking and gut wrenching to see someone you love suffer and dwindle away to the remnants of a human being. It is also unfortunately an affliction that I myself am now faced to battle and endure.

I believe a person should have the right to chose not to suffer and not to make their family witness the horrible affects that are a result of these afflictions
Assisted suicide is legal in 10 states I believe , euthanasia in none. It is not legal where I live and knowing and witnessing first hand what the eventual
results of this malady will be. I have no intentions nor will I let my condition progress to the advanced stages.

If you have never had to deal with any of them , I hope you never do , but the odds on that are slim. So that's something you might want to keep in mind if and when it pops up on your voting ballet. Bless everyone that has dealt with, is dealing with and that will have to deal with these afflictions.
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Puppycat23 · F
Working in healthcare I agree that it should be legalized. I’ve seen many patients in the last stage of their disease suffering while on their death bed in the hospital. They’re just placed on comfort care and given morphine to minimize the pain.
@Puppycat23 I just want to add that the patient is medicated for pain and slowly is starved and thirsted to death. Seeing how short staffed hospitals and nursing homes are, unless the nurse taking care of the dying person makes their care a priority....that person may not get regularly administered pain meds and other comfort measures. Family needs to be at the bedside advocating for a dying loved one. So important.
goodlil666 · 51-55, MVIP
@PoetryNEmotion You are so right!! And neglected they are. Many people don't have anyone advocating for them , and that makes even that much worse.
@goodlil666 It is not the fault of the caregivers. The dying people often have little family around them if any at all. The lack of staffing is on the management or mismanagement as I call them. Frazzled nurses cannot do good nursing. It just isn't realistic. I always made sure my dying patients or residents were first seen. When I was in charge in one home, I checked upon the resident in the respite room first. I even gave pain meds. Why should a dying person be denied comfort measures? It will only get worse. It will never improve now.
Puppycat23 · F
@PoetryNEmotion True, family members should be advocating for their dying loved one. But sadly some family members don’t even show or don’t want to be present at all and I don’t know why. There is one patient in particular that I think about on occasion, she was young, on comfort care and no family members were present. All the nurses could do was give her ativan to calm her down, the rest of the night was depressing.