Hey Terry Why Are You Looking At Dying

[archerinwood]

I am doing a project in RE on euthanasia.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

That's good archer - great timing too! If you were thinking of it, just try not to quote Rijinswand too much 'cos he was talking a load of old bull for the sake of keeping pooh amused (R's a 'spare' profile of mine )

 

[Steffi]

Hello Terry,

I do not know if you ever read sites like this, but if you do: I sincerely hope that when you will make a final decision about your life and your death, you will be able to do it when, where and with whom you want to. Right to self-determination should also be the right to well informed self-termination. It is all about choice and I hope you will be around long enough to have that choice legally, wether you make that choice or not. As long as you have that choice. Thank you for your brave and very personal documentary. I also appreciate the braveness of the people who, in one of the most private moments of a life, allowed you to film. Good luck with your battles.

love,

Steffi

 

[The Mad Collector]

After talking to Rob this afternoon about the programme I know that he hadn't realised how much his reactions in the programme had been picked up by the rest of us. He seemed genuinely surprised by how much his obvious discomfort by the experience had been noticed, to the extent that one of the newspapers here have highlighted him as one of the significant balancing viewpoints to Terry's. It's a difficult subject and he is obviously far less down the road than Terry is and it was interesting to chat about it with him.

Personally I don't think he is happy but respects Terry's decisions whatever they may be.

 

[Wallace]

After talking to Rob this afternoon about the programme I know that he hadn't realised how much his reactions in the programme had been picked up by the rest of us.

I felt Rob was featured specifically for his reaction within the programme, having been a carer myself in the past I found myself seeing Rob's feelings along with each point put forward by Terry, Peter and his wife Christine.

Mike

 

[Dotsie]

I've thought this issue over and I just don't know. It's easy for me to say that everyone should have that choice if they need it, but ultimately I just don't want my loved ones to die. Selfishly, I want them to live forever and see to my emotional needs.

If it were me, well I still don't know. I think something like Alzheimers would do it, but anything that would mean a painful death but keeping my mind in tact I think I would rather see it through. That way I get to spend every last minute with the ones I love. Or maybe towards the end I would want to escape the pain, mine and theirs.

But I'm not afraid of death (although a little afraid of dying), because I'm an atheist. I'm going back to the stars. Just not yet please!

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

Or maybe towards the end I would want to escape the pain, mine and theirs.

This is the clincher - I got so furious with my father when he wanted to come out of the hospice before they got him fully stabilised on his palliative medication so he could come home to die as comfortably as possible for my mother's sake. He got mad right back at me and said he was fed up with being used as a crash test dummy (for ascertaining the balance of drugs to help him die) and didn't care about the pain anymore. Mum wouldn't 'make' him stay, so he got his wish and he took almost 3 months more to die, in the end totally incontinent, refusing to eat and hallucinating with the increasing doses of morphine.

I couldn't blame him for the decision of course, so we got over the row we had, but still I wish he'd stuck it out for another week, or even that weekend, just so it gave them time to sort out practical things for mum for his ongoing care at home. As it was he was getting bed sores ahead of a specialised bed becoming available and things like learning how to attach and change a colostomy bag all had to be done ad hoc at home where there wasn't the nursing care on tap, until he was much nearer termination and so it was all too reactive and so hurried at times that my mum's ability to cope was near disintegration on several occasions and a few times it came close to dad having to go back into the hospice again, which was the exact thing he was trying to avoid when he had his little tantrum.

He was scared he wasn't going to come out of there I think and maybe, if he'd had the option of choosing to take something instead of having to go for palliative assessment, things would have been so much different for all of us. From that perspective the Dignitas potion simply represents peace of mind for the patient and for their family and maybe bypasses the most distressing phase of all for everyone's sake. My mum wanted him home with her whatever and would do it again no matter what but I couldn't watch anyone go through that and I won't put anyone else through it on my own behalf if it's possible to avoid it.