(1)
Based off of theory of health as expanded consciousness box 7.2 page 160, according to Margret Newman, health events are in integral part of life that provides opportunity for growth and change (Pre, 2020).
1 and 2. I have worked with hospice patients. I have sat with my grandma for days prior to her death. I would say that 6 months out is sometimes to far out to tell how long a person will live. I have personally seen people on hospice who are alive a year or so later and not in a dire state or have been on their death bed at the hospital and go back home with quality of life. They have a check list of things a person needs to qualify for hospice care but I would say that the time for assisted suicide would need to be narrowed down to a month or less, if allowed at all*. I believe in there is a process we go though mentally, physically, and spiritually as we close the chapter in this life experience. I know that for the living/ loved ones it can help the grieving process to go through the process of decline of our loved ones health. Embracing loved ones in each state of their lives is the ultimate love extended to a person. I think if the person was good one day and killed themselves the next we would be left wondering if there was a mistake made with the doctors pictures, notes, blood work. Could there have been a mistake in the records and/ or be someone else’s results?
3 and 4. Like birth, death is a right of passage and is a natural process. In saying that, I do think pain should be managed accordingly. Possibly an induced coma for intense burn pain that could not be managed. Assisted suicide is not the quick solution to poor/ incomplete pain management. Speaking of natural process to be devils advocate, keeping someone alive after suffering sever burns to the body in not natural. It seems the tools and gift of the medical field can pay off and the person can live on to lead a fulfilling happy life. He is alive by some act of God, or he would have died.
4. I think end of life can be scary for some but not everyone, because we all know we have an expiration date. I think if a person is scared there are resources to support them through the time and they should seek them out. Reverting back to answers above. Pain management options may need to be expanded to families who’s loved ones are suffering uncontrollably. I think peoples perceptions of pain and being scared and ready to die seriously. The person should be cared for accordingly, Chaplin, group therapy, counselor, family support, medication for anxiety and depression, pain management up to and including induced coma. Death is to easy and too permanent an answer.
(2)
Death is a certain thing for all of us, and this topic is not something that we normally talk about, although death isn’t an option. In my personal opinion I feel like no one has the right to take no one’s life and I also believe that we do not have the right to end our own life no matter the circumstance. It is very hard to say this because I do believe that people with terminal illnesses would want to end their lives, but maybe instead of ending their lives they can be given pain medication to have peaceful last moments of your life. I think if I was in Dax Cowart’s place I would not want to die, sometimes while you are in pain you feel like you rather die but once that paces you are glad that you didn’t because there is so much to look forward to, like children, parents, well family in general. If I was Cowart’s loved one of course I would want him to get treated and get better, no one likes to lose their loved ones and if there is hope in surviving that always brings peace.
I can totally relate that when we are in pain we do not think clearly, I have been in labor four times without any pain medication and in the moment of pain you rather be done and even wish to be dead, but once the pain is done, and you have your baby you are happy to be alive and to be able to hold your baby.
I do have a cousin that was in an accident and as a result of the accident is not able to walk, he has mentioned that he would have wanted to die instead, he has his good and bad days, but we truly do not understand until we are put in a position to decide for ourselves.
I think my last opinion is that instead of having the option to end our own lives, I rather them provide help with having a painless death with medication.
(3)
- I believe that terminally ill people should be able to go through the physician – assisted suicide. Cancer patients should be able to take that decision, the reason I think like this is because, cancer is hard to get rid of. In many of the cases, the patients must go through painful, and expensive treatments, which sometimes cure them, but then cancer comes back. If a patient wants to end their life in order to end their suffering then I believe they should be able to. I do think that consent must be given to the physician before the process, so that the physician is never put through any kind of legal trouble. I do understand that in many of the cases patients might not be old enough to make such decisions, in that case they must get parental consent.
- I do believe that physician – assisted suicide should be reserve for terminally ill patients.
- The Dax Cowart’s case happened in 1973, a 25-year-old man went through an accident which burned approximately 65% of his body, because of this most of his fingers were amputated and he lost vision (Gerrek, 2018). In this case, Cowart wanted to die, but physicians followed with treatment as his mother was consenting to it (Gerrek, 2018). If I were in this case, I do not think I would want to die, specially not if I knew there was high hopes of getting better. If I were a loved one of Cowart, I would have followed through with his wishes, as I believe a person capable of understanding the decision he is making, should be allowed to make it.
- I think that the argument that people who are scared and in pain may not be thinking clearly to make life or death decisions is true. Which is why I believe that a physician should find a calm time when to get the consent of the patient. If the patient wants to die when they are in crucial pain, the decision might change when they are under medication.
IN 5-6 LINES, RESPOND TO THIS THREE DISCUSSION BOARD
