Doctors see much more death than most lay people. I remember the first few times that I stood at the bed side and watched another human being take… the last breath. It was simultaneously awe inspiring and terrifying. Something deep inside of me kept insisting that I “DO SOMETHING!” Instead, I stood quietly and watched them go.
Continue ReadingIn the past week, a prominent member of my Parkinson’s support group died after a long struggle with both Parkinson’s and dementia. When I joined the group two years ago, he was pretty far down the road with his afflictions, yet he showed up for meetings more faithfully than any of us, insisting that his caregivers bring him each week.
Continue ReadingYeah, I know. "Death" and "contest" in the same breath sounds just a little creepy. Maybe that’s what I like about it. Earlier this week, we talked about one of the social taboos of getting old – women’s hair loss….
Continue ReadingYesterday morning when my dad wrote his daily blog post — about the life and achievements of Steve Jobs –I realized, once again, just how much Jobs’ life, vision, and achievements are a part of our general culture. One doesn’t n…
Continue ReadingThere is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said about Steve Jobs, undoubtedly a genius of a certain kind, who pushed technology forward at a faster clip than it would otherwise have moved, who made elegant, little toys…
Continue ReadingLearning of Steve Jobs’ death, I went back to his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, which is mentioned in many “appreciations” and obits. I’d seen the address video several times in the past. But this time I printed it out. (I’m of…
Continue Reading
Here we are, you and I, hanging out on a blog that states right at the top that it is about “what it’s really like to get old” and yet we don’t talk about death and dying – or hardly…
Continue Reading
Journalist Eleanor Clift has written a superb article in the August 2011 publication Health Affairs about the hospice experience of her husband, journalist Tony Brazaitis, in the months before he died of cancer. It’s freely available and filled…
Continue Reading
#ChangingAging - Explore what's next!