POLST CONFRONTS DEATH; COMMUNICATES DYING WISHES. The recent California Healthcare Foundation survey, “Final Chapter: Californians’ Attitudes and Experiences with Death and Dying reported that 70 percent of people say they would prefer to die at home…
Continue ReadingYesterday saw the passing of legendary Pennsylvania State University football coach Joe Paterno just months after being fired in the wake of sexual assault charges against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno’s abrupt decline and death after leaving Penn State in disgrace have many asking whether the scandal hastened his death. Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Michael Vitez posed the question to Dr. Bill Thomas:
Continue ReadingLast week I wrote about how doctor’s die. As I said, we see a lot more death than lay people and as a result have different attitudes towards end of life. Today, a friend shared a story with me that offered such striking insight into death and dying that I asked his permission to share the story in full with ChangingAging readers.
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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 Reading“… old age is a place we have never been. We may see it up close as our parents age, but we will never know what it’s like until we’re there.” The quote comes from a piece I just read, a post by Paul Staley at the KQE…
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