Dear Editor,
Our family has a friend that is waiting for the next step from this life. That’s right he’s dying.
In one of those horrifying twists of fate he contracted a form of cancer that the odds of getting are greater than winning a big lottery cheque. It’s been a decade long struggle that has now landed him in a hospital bed that he won’t be leaving and reduced his once stocky frame to a sunken, hollow ghost of his former self.
After a visit I thought I would pass on some of his observations as food for thought. In our day and age of excellent medical care that has advanced our life expectancy well beyond what it was even a few decades ago, our society has become afraid of death. Whether it’s our loved ones or our pets it has become a near norm to push the inevitable well past the point of acceptable suffering.
“I have a right to a peaceful end,” he flatly stated. “I could fly to Switzerland to switch off, where’s the dignity in our own backyard? We tend our livestock better than people!”
His position? Individuals beyond the point of recovery should have the right to end their suffering and that of their loved ones. Our friend says being able to plan the moment of one’s death could be a very peaceful and beautiful moment for everyone concerned.
For those of you reading this bearing your own crosses, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and yours. I just wanted to share some food for thought.
M. McLean
High River
