How Doctor's Die

My partner found, and forwarded, this interesting post to me concerning how doctors die. Or, more specifically, how doctors choose to turn down many of the invasive "life-saving" options when faced with their own preeminent deaths.

The article makes the claim that many doctors know far too well that many of the tactics available to those faced with news of an impending death are painful, dehumanizing, and (often) thought of as worse than death by their patients. So, doctors take their knowledge of the medical technology available, the realistic quality of life expectations gained by interventions and often choose to wait out their own deaths within the peace and calm of their own homes and family with orders to avoid resucitation, or life support at all costs. They then go on to die in relative comfort having turned down many of the very things they would ordinarily suggest or actually DO to their own patients.

I found it very interesting, and it was a wake up call for my partner that when we concern ourselves with pregnancy and birth and the naturalness of it that does not call for it to take place within the medical community (more often than not). We are also calling attention to the medical community in general and MANY of the practices currently in use that are not called for and would not be chosen if people were EDUCATED about their options and the possible results of each choice. In realistic terms.

For example, I wish that every woman who gets anxious about 'waiting for labor' and agrees to a doctor's suggestion of induction KNEW the story of my doula client who literally suffered in a fevered haze for over 36 hours before finally becoming yet another (unwarranted) C-section case that had life-altering reproductive implications upon her future. But, unless they want to dig up that information, it's not there. The doctors certainly aren't sitting down their clients and spelling out in very layman's terms the risks imposed by the very nature of birthing in a medical environment. They certainly aren't making it clear that their priority is liability FOLLOWED by patient's health!

All very disturbing, and interesting to see that many doctors DO realize the base philosophy of enough is enough. There's a point at which we don't meddle because it's worse in the sense of quality of life if we do. And, that given the choice, one would ultimately choose to live their life to the fullest...not to the longest, most bitter end.

You can find the aforementioned post here,
 http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/read/nexus/