On a sunny and warmish late-November day, my husband and I were meeting some close relatives to deposit our brother-in-law's ashes in a columbarium beside the remains of his late wife, my husband's only sibling. She had died during the pandemic, and her husband had subsequently moved away, but none of us were going to let the grim reaper separate a couple who had been conjoined by a lifetime of shared experiences.
Over the past six years, I've had the privilege of caring for patients with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. As a medical cannabis doctor, I often visit these patients in memory care units, seeing these once self-sufficient individuals, their personas now diminished, no longer able to care for themselves. They become angry and anxious as they confront the fact that their minds, their memories, what made them who they were, recollections of all that they have lived through and accomplished, are slipping away from them.
I'm a relationship therapist because I really struggled in relationships. I didn't understand that vulnerability was a prerequisite for bonding. It was such a relieving awakening to realize that's where I would be loved the most: putting [my] worst foot forward. I think the kids call it full goblin mode. That really is it.
The decision to let Jock go peacefully was made with his comfort and quality of life in mind, a testament to the deep bonds between him and the people who cared for him every day. Jock's legacy at Bristol Zoo, as a leader, father, and ambassador for his species, will live on through the gorillas he helped raise and the countless people.
"If you are reading this, things did not go well for me." That's how Scott Adams' X account announced his death on Jan. 13, reaching an enormous global audience in much the way he had for decades throughout a career that spanned both the cartoon pages and front pages of newspapers for the controversial personality. Adams, creator of the satirical office comic strip " Dilbert" and later a polarizing conservative-leaning online commentator, died in Pleasanton, Calif., at 68 from metastatic prostate cancer.
A few days before he took his last, mercifully peaceful, breath, my husband, Ian Reinecke, looked at me intently and asked, Is there anything going on in the world I need to know about? No, nothing, I said as calmly as I could to the man with whom I had intensely discussed events in the world and at home for nearly 50 years.
It's a brisk November afternoon in the village of South Brent in Devon and, in a daffodil yellow cottage, two women are singing me lullabies. But these aren't the sort of lullabies that parents sing to their children. They are songs written and sung for terminally ill people, to ease them towards what will hopefully be a peaceful and painless death. We are at the home of Nickie Aven, singer and leader of a threshold choir.
I had two sisters in their mid-90s who availed themselves of Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying program. Both were incapacitated; they had lost their dignity and were facing amputations or prolonged stays in the hospital with no hope of survival. They were subjected to multiple interviews making sure that they were lucid. Both died surrounded by their family and a multitude of friends. We celebrated their courage to leave their horrible situation with grace. Everyone in attendance stated that they hoped they would have the courage to do the same. I found the system to be run with sensitivity and efficiency. Reports about abuses are few and far between. Canada should be proud that people in unbearable pain can decide to die when life is intolerable.
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I don't want to come across as a mercenary, but I think it's sensible to talk about inheritance and their plans for nursing homes and end-of-life care
A recent study commissioned by Cloud 9 Vets found that nine out of 10 pet owners in the UK want their pets to spend their last moments at home. The survey included 400 pet owners who clearly preferred their pets to be in familiar surroundings instead of at a veterinary clinic. Yet, many do not know that at-home euthanasia is an option.
I explained that his father wasn't able to clear secretions from his throat or airway, which produced a rattling sound. I understood his concern and recognized the fear in his eyes. When I was caring for my dad, I assumed he was choking. At the time, I didn't know that the unsettling noise was a natural part of the dying process.
For more than a decade, researchers have wondered whether artificial intelligence could help predict what incapacitated patients might want when doctors must make life-or-death decisions on their behalf. It remains one of the most high-stakes questions in health care AI today. But as AI improves, some experts increasingly see it as inevitable that digital "clones" of patients could one day aid family members, doctors, and ethics boards in making end-of-life decisions that are aligned with a patient's values and goals.
As a wealth advisor, I've noticed that my clients often have two reactions to meetings with me. They come out relieved, and even say "That felt like therapy." Or, they emerge worried that they shared too much. Money is really hard to talk about. So is death. It's no wonder that planning for inheritance is fraught for many families. That's why I decided to become a certified financial therapist in addition to a wealth advisor.
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