tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post2591157296149174006..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: The Latest Photogenic Face of Assisted Suicidewilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-15294808302424597422014-10-28T23:13:13.024-07:002014-10-28T23:13:13.024-07:00Fantastic writing, you put into words all that was...Fantastic writing, you put into words all that was swirling about in my thoughts regarding Brittany.<br /><br />I think what irks me the most is that she is pawn who believes herself in control. Of her image, of her destiny. <br /><br />Because if she can't have her storybook perfect life than she will literally destroy it as swiftly as possible.<br /><br /><br />The whole PR story is woven together like a tragic fairytale.<br /><br />And something wicked this way comes.<br /><br />This public suicide can only bring about rash copycat suicides and much more pain.<br /><br />I am afraid Brittany has gone through life sheltered until her diagnosis.<br /><br />I am sorry to see so few people see through the ruse that this is somehow a brave and wise decision.<br /><br />Living until the pain consumes her would be brave. And be a sad but more meaningful sharing wiht her family as she approaches the veil.<br /><br />Instead this feels like a shallow end.<br /><br />Thank you for fighting.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16266653398226350301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-15392349970692119572014-10-22T19:52:02.755-07:002014-10-22T19:52:02.755-07:00I agree with Karen. I think that young, otherwise ...I agree with Karen. I think that young, otherwise healthy people killing themselves before they get really sick sets a very bad precedence. If she were truly strong, she would face more of her life. Later, as the pain got too much or whatever, she could quietly pop her pills with her husband and mom at her side. But to do this so far in advance of any seeming signs of disability from cancer, to go so public as a political statement, it does seem like she wanted her 15 minutes of fame. (I feel sorry for her husband.) I hope that isn't being too harsh, but every cancer person I know (ESPECIALLY those currently suffering) want nothing so much as a cure, as a return to health. They are fighting with every fiber of their beings to survive, to endure, to live with grace as long as absolutely possible. They are fighting death so valiantly, this easy-out just seems a slap in their faces.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03732211071050140803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-20195772543047442962014-10-18T13:59:04.244-07:002014-10-18T13:59:04.244-07:00Moose, I disagree. I am strongly against legalized...Moose, I disagree. I am strongly against legalized assisted suicide precisely because of the experiences I had helping my father through the process of dying from cancer. We did home hospice, with me as the sole caregiver except for people who stopped in a couple of times a day to help change diapers. Yes, I watched him go in and out of consciousness, linger and eventually die. It was sometimes awful, but overall, I would not have wanted to miss the experience for anything. We bonded very deeply, so that it felt as if his dying was a team effort -- to the point that it was a little startling to grasp when he got to the point where he would have to continue the journey without me. A few days before he died, he told a friend that it was worth everything he had gone through "because I got to know my daughter." I kept him dosed up with morphine so that only once did he have bad breakthrough pain, when I miscalculated -- and then I upped the dose quickly. We had enough painkiller in the house that I could've kept him completely asleep til the end, if necessary. So why am I opposed to legalized assisted suicide? Once a societal expectation is set up that a "death with dignity" means taking a bunch of pills and going out instantly, there will be pressure on the ill to "not put their families through all that" and not go on the journey through natural death with their families. The whole time I was having this incredibly powerful, loving experience of caring for my father (four months from diagnosis to the end), I was also dealing with crazed relatives who were calling me up and literally screaming at me that I was an idiot for taking care of him and that I should dump him in a nursing home and let professionals do everything, and that he was a selfish bastard for allowing me to do home hospice. It takes very little imagination to foresee a time when the same kind of relatives would be screaming at some other woman "Why is he being so selfish, letting you change his diapers?! Who the hell even does that, nowadays? Why doesn't he just take the damn pills, like a normal person?!" I don't want society to go down that road. It was hard enough, standing up to the pressure to wash my hands of responsibility for caring for my father. It would've been far more painful to have people yelling at me that he should just hurry up and die already -- and all the worse if some terminally ill people gave in to that kind of pressure and "just took the damn pills," which I think is exactly what would happen.Karen23https://www.blogger.com/profile/09243313102433834682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-62149119612498135702014-10-12T13:45:30.363-07:002014-10-12T13:45:30.363-07:00Sara. I feel bad for the family. The thought of dy...Sara. I feel bad for the family. The thought of dying at home in the bedroom she shares with her husband is romantic notion. I do envy him. Sleeping in same bed and bedroom where my wife died. Sorry I will pass on that idea.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-2063001748038524922014-10-12T11:35:10.734-07:002014-10-12T11:35:10.734-07:00Maynard strikes me as flailing about grasping for ...Maynard strikes me as flailing about grasping for control. In this sense, she is in denial; thinking only of herself. I cannot imagine how painful it would be to have someone I love kill themselves. Yes, the natural death will be painful to watch but we can feel connected to the very end. If you love someone, you want that connection to last for as long as possible, whether you are dying or you loved one is dying. Sara Buscherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07323922471965299451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-70191378738992906112014-10-12T07:52:16.459-07:002014-10-12T07:52:16.459-07:00Moose, We agree on the over the top emotional aspe...Moose, We agree on the over the top emotional aspect of Maynard's story. I agree Maynard is not disabled. She will knowingly end her life before she becomes disabled. Thus her stated desire to die is indeed about disability. By logical extension she assumes end of life will involve disability and that sort of life has no value. Statistics from Oregon and Washington clearly demonstrate people do not end their life because they are in pain. The loss of autonomy and fear of being a burden to family are the primary reasons people end their life. I will also disagree over pain. There is no need for people to die in pain. Top notch pain control is can control via hospice care is routine and effective. Not all agree on this point but again look at statistics that are reported in Oregon and Washington. Sorry but we will have to agree to disagree over this story. And thank you for being polite and civil. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-53097288381093497552014-10-12T06:49:08.000-07:002014-10-12T06:49:08.000-07:00Ok, I get it. The stuff is overly pushing on emoti...Ok, I get it. The stuff is overly pushing on emotional buttons.<br /><br />But this woman is not disabled. This woman has an <i>aggressive cancer</i>. I cannot see another end of life for her that is not lying in a bed, painfully going in and out of consciousness while her family gets to watch her linger and eventually die. Worse, studies show she's likely to suffer from the pain because even in hospice situations doctors grossly undermedicate for pain, as if there's a worry of addiction from someone guaranteed to die in the short term.<br /><br />People like her ARE the reason I believe in assisted suicide. For me, it's not about disability; it is about pain. I think, sometimes, that the problem is like trying to explain the colors of a rainbow to someone who cannot see them. I've seen others in and experienced, myself, pain at levels that cannot be imagined. A year before I'd had a kidney stone and thought that was the worst ever, only to find that pain can get much, much worse. I cannot begin to describe the anxiety that comes with the thought of experiencing this pain again, yet my situation is a sword of Damocles - it will return. <br /><br />I have no idea if the pain of end-stage cancer is better or worse than what I've felt, but I have zero desire to find out. Nobody should have to find out.Moosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10397412122635951126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-57632567145684241092014-10-12T04:38:08.309-07:002014-10-12T04:38:08.309-07:00So true, brother. Only yesterday, a cheerful bus d...So true, brother. Only yesterday, a cheerful bus driver helped me off with the ramp, then said to me "it,s good to see you so happy! I couldn't in your position." So I smiled, nodded towards my beautiful children and said confidently "you would, you just don't know it yet. " :-) <br /><br />We're not dead yet!! <br /><br />In solidarity, from a NDY UK activistHome Makehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08386435749612919084noreply@blogger.com