tags: end of life
2006
November
- 2006 Nov 25
- war and surgery (a metaphor revisited)
The problem with health care professional talking about the Iraq War is that we always seem to find ourselves with mixed metaphors.
· Read more…
2007
May
- 2007 May 16
- phil collins “take me home”
Maybe I’m just being morbid. Maybe it’s because I just finished working in the ICU and watched plenty of people die and signed plenty of death certificates. Maybe it’s because I had dinner with (among others) someone who works for the medical examiner. Nothing like talking about people who died in sudden, unexpected, and often gruesome ways while having Japanese food. Maybe it’s because the track before this one was “Mad World” by Tears for Fears, which has the classic line “the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had,” a song that was resurrected by Gary Jules and the movie “Donnie Darko.”
· Read more…
October
- 2007 Oct 27
- priestly duties
It has been about six months since the last time I had to give The Talk™. It’s not something I’m particularly good at, although I’m better than I used to be. In the end, it’s about getting to the point: your loved one is dying, and everything we’re doing to her/him is only prolonging suffering. Will you give us permission to stop these things, and focus on making her/him comfortable?
· Read more…
2008
June
- 2008 Jun 21
- post-mortem while the body's still warm
Wow. Just, wow. Good thing I'm a little drunk.
· Read more…