When Patients Choose to End Their Lives
For some, the decision to die is more complicated than a wish to reduce pain.
Credit.Gracia Lam
April 5, 2021
At a time when so many are dying against their will, it may seem out of sync to discuss the option of having a doctor help people end their lives when they face intolerable suffering that no treatment can relieve.
It’s less a question of uncontrollable physical pain, which prompts only a minority of requests for medical aid in dying, than it is a loss of autonomy, a loss of dignity, a loss of quality of life and an inability to engage in what makes people’s lives meaningful.
The Power (and Joy) of Being Prepared
An important lesson of 2020 is that preparation for a health crisis is a gift to the people you love. Today’s Well challenge shows you how.
Credit.Andrew B Myers
Early in the pandemic, I wondered what might happen if I came down with a serious case of Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized. My biggest concern was my dog and cat! I made a pact with a friend to look after them.
But then I thought more about it. Who would pay the bills while I was away? Would I want doctors to take extreme measures, or even, God forbid, put me on a ventilator? How would my family make decisions about my health? I realized that I had failed to do the most basic planning to prepare my college-age daughter, an only child, for the responsibilities she would face if I became ill.