![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The American Way of Death
I think that was a book title or movie, once-upon-a-time....
I've seen various discussions on Hunter S. Thompson's suicide, speculations on his reasons and physical health and whether the drugs just didn't take him where he wanted to go anymore. I don't _know_ anything about his "why."
I _do_ remember two passages through the title of this little snippet. First my father, with leukemia, four years, then my mother with generalized old age and decrepitude, five years. And I'll say that _anybody_ who wants to use _any_ means to bypass that process has my blessings. Shrub and his minions can take their meddling and stuff it where the sun don't shine. And that goes double with spurs on for doctors and nurses and personal care attendants who ignore a Living Will and Do Not Resuscitate orders.
Meanwhile, we received maybe 3" of very light and fluffy snow overnight, so I took that as an excuse to try the City Forest trails again. Just _barely_ covered the ice, skis slipped around a lot, but I managed to follow the Way of the Ski for about an hour and four miles.
I've seen various discussions on Hunter S. Thompson's suicide, speculations on his reasons and physical health and whether the drugs just didn't take him where he wanted to go anymore. I don't _know_ anything about his "why."
I _do_ remember two passages through the title of this little snippet. First my father, with leukemia, four years, then my mother with generalized old age and decrepitude, five years. And I'll say that _anybody_ who wants to use _any_ means to bypass that process has my blessings. Shrub and his minions can take their meddling and stuff it where the sun don't shine. And that goes double with spurs on for doctors and nurses and personal care attendants who ignore a Living Will and Do Not Resuscitate orders.
Meanwhile, we received maybe 3" of very light and fluffy snow overnight, so I took that as an excuse to try the City Forest trails again. Just _barely_ covered the ice, skis slipped around a lot, but I managed to follow the Way of the Ski for about an hour and four miles.
no subject
no subject
Not just yes, but hell yes!
I remember my mama having to pull off the road to argue with the doctors who'd called her, trying to get her to talk my Nan out of her DNR. They tried to guilt her into it, actually pulling out the "But she's your mother" card. They didn't go so far as to say "You obviously don't love her if you're willing to let her die" but it was obvious that was what was on their minds. Of course, our line of reasoning was, if we loved her, honoring her decisions would be the best way to show it. But what did we know? We were just her family, not her doctors.
Feh.
Gessi
no subject
My classic example of "Big Doctor knows best" on death and dying -- the DNR, the Living Will, and the Durable Power of Attorney copies somehow got "lost" from my mother's medical records at the hospital.
Luckily, _that_ time she was still lucid enough that we could have a nice little sit-down session with the PTBs in her hospital room.