If I were to say something about the health care system aspect of the illness and dying unit. I think that it is outrageous that so much money is spent on health care, especially the end of life care. But this also connects back to my original ideal that people need to be at peace with themselves when they die, so lying in your bed at home in pain waiting for death doesn't seem ideal for most people. They want every precaution taken because death is scary. I just think it is ridiculous that it costs so much money for the end of life care where you live your final days hooked up to machines, pumped full of numbing pain medication. I don't care if people choose to appreciate death or not, I do care that all of these people don't understand it as fully and will do everything in their power to avoid it. Death can't be avoided, it claims you eventually, just appreciate the time you do have.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
HW 32 - Thoughts following illness & dying unit
Throughout this unit I had the reoccurring question, what happens after we die? So for this unit I was less interested in the political side of healthcare, but in the ripples it causes and how illness and dying affect the thought process a person has. During the elevator speeches Alex made a great statement, he said "I think that the body doesn't want to die, even if the mind does." This was a perfect example of what I was looking at this unit. For my final project I looked at how people who were living in a retirement home acted and how it compared to my own grandfather who is living in Florida. I was very interested in what causes someone to die when they get to that age. Not in the scientific aspect of it, but in the moral and existentialist perception of life and death. I was the most curious as to if you were 85 and you knew that you were finished with everything that you wanted to do on earth and you knew you were dying, would you die? Or do you stick around until your body says you can go? This is where the path becomes hazy because not only does this suggest a separation between body and soul, but it suggests that we are more in control of our life force then we thing we are.
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Sam,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the idea of lingering on the earth in your final years worries you a lot. I have a question about a question you made above:"I was the most curious as to if you were 85 and you knew that you were finished with everything that you wanted to do on earth and you knew you were dying, would you die? Or do you stick around until your body says you can go?"
Are you asking whether your attitude toward death could expedite or slow down the dying process? If so then I think a fascinating thought that you should definitely look more into. Another question you could ask is how does your setting in your final years (home, retirement home, hospital) affect your attitude toward dying. I could see through your writing that you were on the brink of asking that question yourself
Younger Brother (Eli)
ReplyDeleteYour opinion on the value of end-of-life care is very interesting. You take the whole countries interest and realize that people suck up the healthcare system in their final days. You don't outwardly say that but it is implied by statements such as "I just think it is ridiculous that it costs so much money for the end of life care where you live your final days hooked up to machines".
To respond I would just ask what about the loved ones. When grandma passed we valued every second. Imagine what grandpa thought. This is hard to think about but it proposes that you only live once. Yes it is hard to let go, but this life is our only one (as far as we know). So why not spend boatloads of money just for another day. If it means one more smile, then you could argue its worth it.
Mentor (Mother)
ReplyDelete"Or do you stick around until your body says you can go?"
If only the solution were that simple. You talked a little about health care and the end of life as living winds down. I think there is no clear cut answer -- there is the life of the dying, and of the living to consider. there is what medicine can do to prolong life, but as you pointed out, is it always for the better? As we all approach a time when the purposefulness of our life is in question maybe we will be fortunate enough to reflect back on some of these words, and as medicine helps or hinders, we find some peace in the life we lived.