If Life Was Easy It Wouldnt Be Worth Living
Recently, in the New York Times Magazine, author Katy Butler wrote an article about her father's slow death after a stroke, during which he was kept alive by a pacemaker he would likely have refused to get had he known what the end of his life would look like and the toll it would take on his wife. At that point, however, his dementia had advanced to the point where he could no longer make that choice.
In her article, Butler states, "Thanks to advanced medical technologies, elderly people now survive repeated health crises that once killed them," and nearly everyone would agree in many cases that's a positive thing. People aren't as likely to die prematurely of pneumonia, the flu and heart attacks, and are given the chance to see their grandchildren grow up. However, she also cites a downside: Nearly a third of Americans over 85 have dementia (a condition whose prevalence rises in direct relationship to longevity). Half need help with at least one practical, life-sustaining activity, like getting dressed or making breakfast.
In a 2008 study in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 28 percent of patients with advanced heart failure said they would trade one day of excellent health for another two years in their current state. And patients are not the only ones potentially negatively affected: a 2007 Ohio State University study of the DNA of family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease showed a four-to-eight-year shortening of lifespan. In spite of this, during the health care reform debate last year, conversations about quality of life and end of life got nicknamed "death panels" and extensive media coverage of the ensuing hysteria caused reimbursement for these sorts of dialogues to be dropped.
When we talk about living longer, most people imagine a life that is healthy, peaceful, connected with community and family, and a freedom to pursue interests they haven't been able to while working
When we talk about living longer, most people imagine a life that is healthy, peaceful, connected with community and family, and a freedom to pursue interests they haven't been able to while working
These are worthy goals and hopes, for the elderly and those who will eventually become them. But goals and hopes don't ensure that our lives will go as we plan. Our minds and bodies eventually fail - death is inevitable - and while medical advances have helped us to skirt premature death, they have also helped us to prolong a life that may no longer be worth living. This is a circumstance that many (if not most) people would rather avoid - for themselves and for those who are in their lives.
End of life decisions are deeply personal, for each individual and his or her family. But sadly, most of the time these decisions are not thought-out, discussed, and made in advance of when they are needed. Even when they are written down or thought-out, the paperwork is not accessible to loved ones or, in many states, when 911 is called a do-not-resuscitate order is not honored unless the person is wearing a state-issued bracelet. As with many things, medical/technological advances have outpaced our ability to think about these advances with conscious decision-making, laws, and moral wrestling. Perhaps it is time to catch up.
Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201006/life-may-no-longer-be-worth-living
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