John Lennon’s observation that “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans,” was an apt mantra for me during the last 4 weeks. Nobody plans a concussion, but life happens. The holiday schedule had included conducting a family Christmas, hosting a post-Christmas gathering of neighbors at the cottage, celebrating a three day family New…
Across the country, Canadians were given a forum to discuss end-of-life care, thanks to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and Macleans. The Town Hall style meetings were an inspired idea. I attended the meeting in Mississauga and was pleased to see the combination of structure and informality in the program. Participants could come away with a common vocabulary,…
Some weeks ago I noted that Quebec’s Bill 52 – An Act Respecting End-of-Life-Care has gathered and polarized public debate. The Bill begins to provide the legislative framework for a death with dignity. However, it raises flags for those of us who have been concerned about the issue. A colleague and friend of mine in Montreal, Lorine…
Dr. Donald Low, the physician we came to trust during the SARS crisis, made an impassioned plea for a death with dignity in a video that is gaining much attention. His wife, Maureen Taylor, “said though her husband did not die in pain, his final days were a struggle as he lost control of bodily…
Wall Street Journal Saturday/Sunday, September 7-8, 2013 The Ultimate End-of-Life Plan How one woman fought the medical establishment and avoided what most Americans fear: prolonged, plugged-in suffering By Katy Butler author of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death,” to be published Sept. 10 by Scribner. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577304579054880302791624.html?KEYWORDS=A+full+Life+to+the+end&cb=logged0.34060677189703203 death with dignityhospice carepalliative…
Bonnie Lendrum 