Posted on 12/01/2024 3:16:53 PM PST by DoodleBob
How about a CPAP machine?
A pneumatic compression device?
Water that is brought to me in a cup because I can not walk? Is that "Artificial water"?
Breakfast in Bed? Are the cubs bringing me Artificial Nutrition every Mother's Day?
In my thirties I nearly die of dehydration from food poisoning. I was like a fire hose with two opposing nozzles as various semi solids and fluids raced towards the light. When I got to Urgent Care in Sedona, AZ and that saline fluid hit my veins it was sweet, sweet relief. I can tell you with authority that the simple invention of the saline IV drip is the most fabulous life-saving invention ever invented, bar none.
I am right there with you brother! The powers that be are messaging to us “The moment you cannot provide for yourself we will kill you.”
Like many medical interventions, all forms of artificial nutrition and hydration:
If this is basic care then kill me. Kill me with kindness. Palliative care.
My father is slowly losing his life in a senior wing of a hospital. We’ve given the instructions to keep him comfortable and to medically treat him for any issues, but not do anything that will extend life unnecessarily. If he slips into a coma, let him go.
I think that’s the way it is supposed to be at the EOL.
And I draw the line there.
You want to kill someone, use a knife to open up their chest and pull their heart out. Own it.
Do not torture them to death and pat yourself on the back about how "humane" you are.
“Myth: A dying person who has become dehydrated due to lack of fluids experiences extreme thirst, pain and distress.
Fact: Dehydration in a seriously ill person with a terminal condition, and in the frail elderly, is not painful. In fact, frail elderly persons have a blunted sense of thirst,...”
Just how could this fact be determined? Not being snippy, I honestly won’t to know how a frail elderly person was able to convey his or her blunted sense of thirst to medical staff. Maybe the pain and distress caused mental confusion where the person could not articulate just how thirsty they truly were.
When the time comes for me I’m going to use Euthanasia to end my life. We are all going to go sometime and I’m not going to needlessly suffer.
From the demons who said starving to death was euphoric. Terry Shiavo can not be reached for comment.
My faith does not permit suicide. I understand others will take an active role in their own death but I could not make such a choice. Besides by the time I am on the threshold of death it may be mandatory to select an ice flo.
We had direct experience with this philosophy with my wife who has advanced Parkinson’s, got COVID, then pkeumonia and lost her ability to swallow. After weathering the pneumonia and COVID, The first hurdle was the distinct pressure to not install the permanent feeding tube and to let her expire. We refused and had the GI tube installed. Release from the hospital was either to rehab or hospice so we elected to try hospice. Again the medical pressure was to restrict the flow of food into her feeding tube and,”let her go”.
We dropped hospice and have been self caring for her with around the clock help.
Medicare stops paying when you drop hospice. So we pay for all the care she gets out-of-pocket. It’s worth it.
She’s home and comfortable but we’ll keep her alive as long as she can survive. We know it’s not long but it’s the right thing to do.
Don’t worry if a terminal person is refusing water. Dehydration actually decreases pain because dehydrated nerve endings have a hard time transmitting pain signals. Every person should fill out a form with their doctor stating what they do and do not want done. Everyone should have a medical power of attorney to make sure wishes are followed. I am not in favor of assisted suicide per se, but I am in favor of keeping a dying person as comfortable as possible.
Perform strange and occasionally uncomfortable procedures that may result in injury or death.
Have known side effects and potential complications, including serious infections, fluid overload, nausea/vomiting and diarrhea, electrolyte and mineral imbalances, and even death;
Have indications (use of the treatment for patients with similar conditions has been usually more beneficial than harmful);
Have contraindications (use of the treatment for patients with similar conditions has been usually more harmful than beneficial); (allergies and what have you)
Hold very little similarity to a person being inside the womb and taking their nourishment through the umbilical cord.
Feeding is obviously an artificial way to cling to a life that should have ended when the cord was cut.
No one should have to suffer this loss of dignity.
And let's not even talk about what happens AFTER you eat.
My mom, at the age of 101, died at my home. It was just me and the occasional hospice worker. Before she slipped into a coma she lost all interest in eating, despite my requests that she just try a little nibble if she could. Thirst was a big problem, but she could not swallow without choking, which I tried to alleviate with ice chips, Popsicles, and wet sponges, even after she lost consciousness. Hospice assured me that morphine was making her comfortable, but I don’t know. I was pretty much alone. It was the worst experience of my life (just a year ago). Mom is a believer in Jesus, so I know she is happy and well, but not a day goes by that I don’t wonder if I did everything right.
I’ve done a fair amount of hospice work in the last 25 years.
The article is excellent. However, it does not address the most important factor, i.e. clarity of mind.
When I’m caring for a dying person I strive for a balance between two things. First is to minimize pain. Second is to maintain clarity of mind.
My experience is that most nurses give too high of a dose of painkiller that it clouds the mind. I’ve cared for many dying of cancer, specifically bone cancer which is one of the most difficult to manage pain. I decrease the dosages slowly until they are uncomfortable and then increase them slightly, trying to find the balancing point.
There is an alternative to the pain killers. That is prayer. With prayer a person can rise above the level of consciousness where the person experiences pain. Prayer works very similar to hypnosis in that it can be an analgesic.
In addition, prayer is the tool for stepping out of the physical body when it’s time to depart. Very often I was praying with people when they died.
The problem with too much pain killer is that it makes it difficult for the person to pray and they just hang on in a drugged up state.
There are two ways to die. One is when the physical body no longer can contain life. The soul just departs, but often hangs around for a while, often days.
The second and better way to die is by your soul consciousness transcending their physical body. This allows the person to straddle the fence and be in both places at the same time. They will often see and hear loved ones who previously passed. One woman I worked with even heard her dogs barking that had passed years earlier.
The second way is far better for soul growth. The last period of life prior to death is very valuable time for soul cleansing work.
Many times I have heard confessions and assisted in forgiveness work in the hours and minutes prior to death. Remember the parable of the vineyard workers. It is of great importance that even work in the last minute prior to death is valuable. (In humor, I call the vineyard worker parable the procrastinator’s parable)
Prayers by other people for the dying person are also very valuable. They assist in guiding the person through the layer of darkness and into Heaven.
I started doing Hospice work after I died myself, crossed over to Heacen, and the returned to my physical body. Heaven is so great that there has not been a day in over thirty five years since my death that I did not want to die again and return to Heaven.
The most difficult and painful deaths I have observed are by those who die holding onto anger. It makes it difficult for the soul to let go and cross over.
Whenever possible, it is better to die at home with family and friends around you.
🙏🙏🙏
I had one woman, just shy of 98 who stopped eating. For three weeks she would not eat.
After two weeks, she stopped drinking liquids. I still used the sponges to moisten her mouth, but she consumed no liquids the last week prior to death.
I had to keep repositioning her body as the blood was coagulating the last few days.
Finally her death was very peaceful.
When a person dies, I feel very cold as they are borrowing my soul energy. When I feel that chilled to the bone cold, I immediately start praying to reconnect and replenish. As soon as they see the Light at the end of the tunnel they have their own connection to guide them home.
My hat is off to you for what you are doing. It’s not easy, but well worth the effort.
You can do in home hospice. That gives you the nursing and Dr. care, and all bills are paid by hospice.
The general rule to qualify for hospice is that life expectancy is less than 6 months. I’ve had people on hospice for almost two years.
Your mother was lucky to have you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.