What are you talking about? My father was on palliative care for 27 months before he died, well-fed, well-hydrated, naturally, at age 92.
What palliative care means is that thre are no attempts at a cure (no surgery, radiation, or chemo) but all medical efforts are directed toward relieving symptoms.
It includes nutrition, hydration, hygienic care, pain management (in his case, morphine by mouth when he reported pain) and comfort care (in his case including inhalation therapy with bronchodilators, which he discontinued when he didn't want it.)
Cutting off pain management and comfort care is cruelty, and cutting off food and water (for the patient who can still assimilate nutrients) is murder.
I am sorry for your losses. My condolences.
My experience with palliative care covers history also: relatives who did have good end-of-life care, and were able to maintain a life up until the end. My dad lived 3 days after a heart attack, believed what the docs said about being bed-ridden, and chose to not resuscitate; he lived how he lived until he died, which was lucky for him and would be for us all.
On the other hand, one of my closest relatves ended up in a hospice when strongly recommended, not his own condo, signed a do not resuscitate order, and had the palliative care I spoke of (3 weeks, no food, no water, increased morphine), and died forthwith. The man had barely taken aspirin his whole life. As far as I was concerned, it was murder a la Schiavo.
I was furious watching that whole experience. He could have gone home. He could have had time. He could afford any treatment he wanted. Anything.
That’s when I decided that if that’s going to happen to me, I had just better disappear up in the mountains somewhere above the tree line in winter. Dried food, a tent, and there I’ll be on my way.
I am not saying the article doesn’t have a point. I do have experience that says otherwise, however. Additionally, because of the Soros project on death and dying in America, as well as the dollars that will be spent on health care projected for the next 20 years for people who are above a certain age now, the death process will be provided for in this country quite differently.
That is ALL I am going to say about this.