BBC 2 documentary last night - assisted suicide

Did anyone see this?

A fascinating and on occasion 'disturbing' documentary.

Shows yet again how fragile life is - Simon Binner was 57 when he was told that, at the most, he had 2 years to live.

Got to make the most of every day - who knows when it will be your last

 

I will look at my BBC link up to see if I can find it.

I had watched a documentary titled "Dying in Oklahoma" and it was about assisted suicide. The people were mostly those with terminal cancer. It was very interesting how they made it gentle, humane and there was never any "pressure" put to the patients. One lady had cancer of the liver and she had decided to take this way out but suddenly she started feeling better and everything was simply put on hold until her health took her back to total suffering. They did not film any of the dying moments which was in good taste however the sound of those departing was included and most of it was conversations with loved ones and then gentle good byes.

 

I stood by my missus as she watched her dad die over several hours. Everyone knew he was going to die. He himself had accepted his fate. Yet stupid laws meant he had to be allowed to slowly choke to death in front of his family.

It's time the law was changed.

 

I caught the last 20 minutes or so; not something I would ordinarily watch.

 

My mother was allowed to starve to death. She had a massive stroke and part of her paralysis was that she could not swallow properly and refused to be tube fed. The hospital kept her intravenous drip running and just kept upping the morphine so that she felt no pain.

 

I tend to think we do have assisted death in the UK, its just hidden, and unspoken of.
Mainly for fear of prosecution.

Personally I think it should be everyone's "human right" to say when they have had enough, and no doctor or court should be allowed to "play god" and get in their way.

Keeping someone alive against their wishes is inhumane, and should be illegal.

If it was done to an animal society would not allow it.

Religion has a lot to answer for in this modern world in more ways than one.

 

I didn't see this as I was helping my Mum to settle in after coming out of hospital last night.
She was diagnosed with terminal cancer just a few weeks ago.
My own personal feelings on assisted suicide are that everyone should have the right to make that decision for themselves.
I have spoken about this with my family (Mum, brother, sisters) and we all have similar views. They also know that if I was to be involved in a serious accident, my wish is "DNR" - Do Not Resuscitate, if it came to the point where I died and needed to have my heart shocked to bring me back. My family respect my decision.
I suffer from both osteoarthritis (spine, both sacroiliac joints), degenerative disc disease and rheumatoid arthritis (affects joints in my hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, feet). I have just turned 49 and spend every day in excruciating pain. I have to take strong opiate pain medication several times a day just to have some sort of "normal" life. I don't want to live in this amount of pain for another 30 - 40 years. If scientists come up with a cure for arthritis, such as stem cell treatment to enable the growth of new cartilage in my joints, or replacement discs and vertebrae, then I'd want to try that in the hope that I wouldn't be in so much pain all the time. But otherwise, I'd like to have the option to choose myself when my joints become so badly deformed that the pain has become too unbearable.
I'm already having to take morphine now as it is.
I'm single and don't have children, so there aren't anyone else's feelings to hurt or anyone to look after me in old age.
I'm sorry to sound so morbid, but those are my own personal feelings and I don't impose them on anyone else.

On a brighter note though, I'm currently going through the process of adopting a younger dog to take over from my 12 year old dog who is trained to assist me.

 

I watch these sort of programmes to remind me what is really important in life - it's not big new cars; flash houses or money - in the end it's only friends and family that matter. (I'm sure I've said this before - but it's worth repeating )

I think about my friend who was diagnosed a year ago with cancer - and all my so called 'worries' just dissolve away into nothing.