Death is something that we as a society do not deal with well. I know a lot of my attitudes towards it have been formed both by my upbringing and also by the writing of Terry Pratchett.
I've known from when I was a boy where I will be buried. The kids and I would often go out and "visit the relatives" - something I still do on my own. I purchased my own plot about a year or so ago and my wishes are clearly expressed to the kids. Something I encourage everyone to do. My xW was phobic about it though refusing to even have our wills done up, something that especially when we had young kids was in hindsight, pretty irresponsible.
Sir Terry wrote one bit "I wish to die like a wizzard. Reluctantly." But a lot of his writings both fiction and non accept death as an inevitable part of the journey of life. He wasn't a believer in an after-life and neither am I. But I can certainly understand the idea that at some point that I will find life a burden that I will want to lay down in a time and manner of my own choosing.
So sorry that your friend had so many struggles at the end. I think it really depends on the practitioner they are dealing with. You would know better than me, but I would imagine that some look to preserving life at any cost whereas others look to the patient's comfort and dignity. I remember when my grandmother passed that the staff just worked on keeping her comfortable and she left us in a medicated sleep with her daughter at her side (my Dad had passed some years earlier).
((kml))
On BD H52, W50 T27, M26 S21, D23 BD-9-Mar-16 D-15-Jan-18 Final-19-Apr-18 I am a storyteller. The story may do you no good. But a story is never for the listener. It is always for the one who tells
But a lot of his writings both fiction and non accept death as an inevitable part of the journey of life. He wasn't a believer in an after-life and neither am I. But I can certainly understand the idea that at some point that I will find life a burden that I will want to lay down in a time and manner of my own choosing.
