back to Issue 3

“And as far as other people’s deaths and opinions are concerned, we should try to have open minds and listening ears, and a readiness to admit we don’t have all the answers. We won’t always know what the right thing to do is. Our personal history, beliefs, attitudes, circumstances, might well influence us. We need to have the humility to accept that others may reach a different conclusion. And that’s OK.”

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Hazel, thank you so much for openly and pragmatically discussing a topic that is so difficult for most of us to air. As a Palliative Care physician myself I have supported patients and families through end of life experiences, and I have found that families who had already discussed these issues, and were open to the needs and wishes of their dying loved ones, were able to feel much less conflicted and more at peace. I appreciate your balanced discussion of medically assisted death which arouses conflicting emotions in all. As I practice medicine in Canada, I have personally witnessed the peace and the abatement of fear of a painful dying process felt by those who knew they could, as well as by those who did, call on the medical team to provide assisted death. I also love your emphasis on God's grace and love, his assurance of our place in his kingdom if we join his family. Death then is no longer something to fear, but a part of life's journey.
Grace and peace,
W

Thank you for this valuable endorsement of the ideas expressed, W. As a Palliative Care specialist you are dealing with death all the time, so it’s a powerful testament hearing from real life that preparing for what might come, both personally and as a family, contributes to peace and confidence when the end draws near. You are exactly the kind of person we would all like to accompany us on our final journey.
All blessings,
Hazel