WaPo has a long article on how LTC is bankrupting families. The most highly recommended reader comments all point out the benefits of assisted suicide as a solution.
So that’s the solution for America’s failing health care system – Let’em Die.
free link
https://wapo.st/4b6IwMO
intercst
Reinstate Major Medical insurance and get rid of corruption.
The Captain
Are you new to planet earth?
JimA
Simple fact is that humans are mortal, pushing mortality aside becomes radically more expensive as body systems weaken and fail, and the benefits of doing so rapidly fail and become negligible, then negative, and then horrific. However, much of the USA health system revolves around that insanely expensive madness.
My family culture going back over a century is radically opposed to that structure. My ancestors down to my beloved parents all died peacefully and happily at home, surrounded by love. I had to break my Dad out of the hospital to achieve that.
Crony capitalism and corruption is the American system and the most illiterate and innumerate 50% of the population vote for it. What to do? Note: They can’t afford “Major Medical”, and you can’t trust the insurance companies to approve the medical benefits you paid for.
intercst
I’ve watched Big Fish with each of los diablitos to ensure they understand their responsibility in breaking dad out of the hospital. I’ve added on the expectation of an open-air funeral pyre with open bar and live music when I cross over.
A mix up in the night meds seems to be the most innocuous way to go in late twighlight.
My neighbor down the street passed away a couple weeks ago from pancreatic cancer. His daughter and girlfriend helped him out onto the back porch so he could sit and look out over the lake. Died a few minutes later.
The best and biggest thing to do, is have a plan, talk to your family/loved ones about it, and as far as a medical power of attorney pick someone that will carry out your wishes. I saw to many times during my career the decision maker chicken out over guilt or something.
Currently dealing with this while moving my mom into a memory care facility. They had a pretty specific list/questionaire about end of life care. CPR, fluids, antibiotics, etc. Many, many years ago, mom and I had a discussion about such things. Told her I would have no qualms about pulling the plug, stopping care, never starting care. As a critical care nurse, she saw plenty of the bad stuff too.
The big problem about assisted suicide as medical care, the steep, slippery slope. Just look how things are playing out in Canada and who is being offered/suggested medical suicide.
Terrific knowledgable post.
Almost always the horror show (and 2ndarily the insane costs) arise through individuals and their spouse/family members not realizing that it is they that must take on the responsibility of choosing, as the doctors and nurses and staff are professionally set so that they must err on the side of extending life.
I had the great advantage of growing up within a family culture that preserved what we learned back in pioneer days when the responsibility around death and various agonies had to be handled by (as my last surviving quite steely great grandma told me) “Us or the Devil!” Once that is clear, the “Us” can act with tremendous grace, love, and courage.
When AIDS started slaughtering my friends I was one of the few who knew the right questions, starting point attitudes, and how to help terrified people in pain and grief make decisions they had never contemplated ever.
It is best to contemplate ahead of the devil’s arrival.
Most people courageously want to fight to live, but are at a loss as to how to deal with losing that battle. Almost everyone given the loving graceful opportunity for “the view of the lake from the back porch”, or trading days in hospital for even brief time at home with cat or dog, choose the latter.
I strongly recommend to all fools the need to think and talk about this….
We ended up with Dad home. We did not break him out of the hospital. There was hope he would continue to improve, but the doctors did know better. We are grateful to hospice and one of the aides we hired.
Paul was a disgrace. It does not matter how many people agreed with him. He took on economics as he saw it, from a very ignorant point of view.
The reason the first world has universal health care is because it is care. The reason the US does not is because of our history of slavery. Our culture still blames the slave.
Must read : Wendell Berry’s “Fidelity”. From the AMZN book page:#
“And In “Fidelity”, Danny Branch “rescues” his father, Burley Coulter, from life-prolonging hospital machinery in a crime that has no name. These tales, and the people they tell of, are woven together by an unshakable love and faithfulness. This fidelity is present in Elton, Mary Penn’s husband, who sees that his wife is ill and asks a friend to look after her, and in the men who walk into the late night to check on flooded neighbors in “Are You All Right?” And it is present in Henry Catlett, Danny Branch’s lawyer, as he explains to the detective investigating Burley’s kidnapping:“A man has disappeared from your world, Mr. Bode, that he wasn’t in for very long. ..”.He has disappeared into his people and his place, not to be found in this world again forever". Wendell Berry once again proves himself a master storyteller.And In “Fidelity”, Danny Branch “rescues” his father, Burley Coulter, from life-prolonging hospital machinery in a crime that has no name. These tales, and the people they tell of, are woven together by an unshakable love and faithfulness. This fidelity is present in Elton, Mary Penn’s husband, who sees that his wife is ill and asks a friend to look after her, and in the men who walk into the late night to check on flooded neighbors in “Are You All Right?” And it is present in Henry Catlett, Danny Branch’s lawyer, as he explains to the detective investigating Burley’s kidnapping:“A man has disappeared from your world, Mr. Bode, that he wasn’t in for very long. ..”.He has disappeared into his people and his place, not to be found in this world again forever". Wendell Berry once again proves himself a master storyteller.”
Read this story aloud with whomever you have chosen as your DPA/ health care proxy to test the waters for “ are we on the same page?” test. Or read it to yourself…it is Wendell Berry, after all.
Spot
Assisted suicide is legal in some states. It is common in some countries in Europe. Especially Netherlands.
We spend big sums keeping people alive who have no hope of recovery. This makes no sense. Why extend their suffering? This stresses family. Why not put affairs in order and go.
No this is not a plan for the uninsured. It is common sense for all.
A third alternative, let nature take its course.
The Captain
And in Canada the discussion is about harvesting organs while the suicidee is still alive. And from this month in the New England Journal of Medicine…
Contextualizing the Dead Donor Rule in an Era of Voluntary Euthanasia
Winberg et al.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2601611
DB2
Nature can be very painful. Also, nature can take a looonnnnggg time to kill someone who is fundamentally strong.
Wendy
Not going to get into a back and forth type argument/discussion, but again, the slippery slope. Terminal cancer, no one would question. But look at the Netherlands, Canada, etc., hey you are 90 and fell and broke your hip, you have long standing depression, you have Down’s syndrome, just do a search and many results are appalling.
Hospice care to relieve suffering. To actively take a life, not for it. To withdraw care is a different topic not to be confused with assisted suicide.
Are you talking about stopping eating and drinking? Sounds horrific to me. I’d much rather have assisted suicide as an option.
My dear Mom one day in her 97th year, while still going for daily walks and attending church, announced that “I’m done,” and stopped eating anything except what she called “stomach stiller” like a daily cucumber or carrot, drinking water with some citric juice, and a hefty glass of her favorite California red wine at bed time, lifting high with a smilingly proclaimed “Cheers!”. She passed happily peacefully after 10 days.
Not JLC. Not eating and drinking. Preventing useless medical SO CALLED CARE.
The Captain
A hypothetical person is diagnosed with dementia sever enough that they would normally be confined to a 24-hr facility. Life expectancy is 12-24 months with proper care.
What care would you consider useless? What do we do with a person that is a danger to themselves and others if we don’t confine them?