Comments on: A win, of sorts

By: billie

billie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:58:48 +0000

Having spent 9 months visiting patients in the spinal ward I applaud this decision. Over the years many Perth spinal patients have opted to starve to death so I am surprised that Mr Rossiter had to take his case to court.

I think the medical fraternity should have more regard to the “quality of life” issues facing their patients prior to undertaking surgical treatments.
There is no virtue in saving someone’s life when you know the patient will be confined to a nursing home watching TV with old folks and being fed nutritionally poor meals. It’s easy for hospitals to identify which patients have strong familial and friendship bonds and which patients are socially isolated.

Does PC @ #17 visit a nursing home daily/weekly/monthly? Never – well butt out!

By: Zorronsky

Zorronsky — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:01:56 +0000

PC@16 “His life is not his own; you’d have to be a nihilist to think it is. He is not the person who has to deal with his death.”
No, he’s the only one who can deal with his death. Any other interested persons deal with his remains.

By: David Irving (no relation)

David Irving (no relation) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:02:57 +0000

My mother essentially starved to death a few years ago. It wasn’t exactly deliberate, just a consequence of various ailments that meant she just couldn’t fit in enough food to keep herself alive. (It took many months, and she weighed about 30kg at the end.)

It didn’t seem to me to be too bad a way to die. Mum wasn’t in great distress towards the end (except when she had to be helped out of bed to go to the toilet as she had so little flesh left on her bones that physical contact was painful), but I think it was made easier by a morphine pump she had for the last couple of days.

At least this bloke’s made the choice himself. It’s just very sad that his life is such that he wants to die.

By: Paul Burns

Paul Burns — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:21:48 +0000

As some-one suffering from prostate cancer, currently in remission from Zoladex treatment, which makes you drowsy and completely, absolutely removes your sex drive, to the point you never think about (which, in regard to the latter side effect, btw, is absolutely wonderful – a lot less wasted time in several ways), I’ve had ten years to think about this. Especially if it turns out to be summer. I could I suppose OD on heroin, but a) I’ve never used it so I’d have no idea how much to take b0 I haven’t a clue where to get it in Armidale or anywhere else c) I hate, hate, hate needles . And when you have at least two blood tests a year comprising three lots of blood = 3 needles, + Zoladex every three months which has a needle the size of a large nail + all the blood tests I get with my usually bi-annual trips to hospital, + drips etc. etc. you get what I mean when I say,I hate needles. (Plus all the other bloody needles I’m likely to have in the future the doctor’s not told me about yet.) Besides, with my luck, some friend I haven’t seen for ages would probably turn up at my flat and revive me.
Or I could swim out into the ocean and rown, at night, so nobody can rescue me.

I know enough about prostate cancer to know my PSA levels will indicate my time to off it. After that, its just a question of will. And I’m a stubborn old bastard.

The point is, people with terminal illnesses should be able to chose when and how they want to die, painlessly. And what is happening to this 38 year old who could live for years if he doesn’t strarve to death is abominable.

And nor am I unaware of the strength of the life-force, having nearly drowned thirty years ago. Believe me, and this is not contradictory I hope, generally people really don’t want to die.

By: zorronsky

zorronsky — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:10:44 +0000

Remember “Little Big Man.”? “It’s a good day to die!” Never forgotten it myself. I hope I know and can act on a good day to die.

By: John D

John D — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:46:13 +0000

Anna @18: When I was talking about rash I was thinking about a teenager despairing of lost love or someone of any age who has just had a few bad days in a row. If I was going to help someone end their life I would want to be sure that the person does understand the alternatives and has made a sensible choice. I would also want be sure that I wasn’t exposed to claims of murder because the decision hadn’t been checked by an appropriate group of people.

I do have some doubts about a quadraplegic’s decision to end their life. My reading of the literature is that there is a good chance of ways being found in the not so distance future for the use of limbs to be recovered and/or for the brain to be able to control directly prosthetic limbs. In the end, someone in this position should have the right to decide how long they want to go on living in hope. The case of someone who will die after a few weeks of pain is a different issue and should be treated differently.

By: Debbieanne

Debbieanne — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:03:32 +0000

Wonder what the ‘teabaggers’ would think of this? what with all the ‘death panel’ bs and all.
Have to agree with you Anna, a plus and a minus. Absolutely agree Mervyn.

By: tigtog

tigtog — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:34:32 +0000

Agreed that we don’t know that much about what options he’s been offered. But the description of him spending most of his day in the nursing home alone in front of a TV has been widely repeated.

Surely he should have better options for human interaction than that available.

By: Fine

Fine — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:29:25 +0000

Tigtog, we don’t know that much about his life – what options he’s been given, what his belief system is, what he enjoys, what his life was like before the illness etc. So, I think we shouldn’t presume that he hasn’t been offered other options. The internet maybe a literal lifesaver for some people of absolutely no solution to others. Some people decide that there is a time when it’s right for them to die and offering other options is of little interest to them.

By: tigtog

tigtog — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:08:00 +0000

Before saying this I want to distance myself from Pseudonymous Coward’s stance, but I am disturbed that there seems so little examination of how Christian’s options and experiences became so limited after his injury that he sees no point to life.

I regularly interact online with people who are profoundly disabled and requiring constant pain management but who do not feel trapped and abandoned to a life with no purpose as Christian claims about his own situation. Why on earth doesn’t he at least have a computer so that he can argue with people on the Internet?

I still support his right to choose to die, entirely. But I am also very concerned that a man with the potential to interact with a broad range of people around the world instead has spent the last few years mostly alone in a room with a TV. I probably wouldn’t want to cling on to that life either, but why wasn’t he given the opportunity to live a better one?