Constable - I'll throw in a story about my father-in-law. He was fine just fine - at home, good GP, kept him on tablets to prevent high blood pressure - diabetic.
Anyway, he went to hospital for - of all things - prostate. He would have been much better ignoring the problem!.
Firstly, the hospital took him off the blood pressure tablets (So that wounds would heal) - I was present visiting him one night when the nurse took his blood pressure and turned white. She ran away to tell a doctor, who didnt do anything. That night he had a massive stroke - unconscious for days. Paralysed in one arm and would never complete a sentence again in his life.
(his GP was FURIOUS - IDIOTS he said - I keep his pressure under control for 20 years, and they get him for a few days and screw it up"). Whilst there we saw people with "nil by mouth" above the beds being force fed - sheesh - ABSOLUTE incompetence - CRIMINAL negligence imho.
Couple of days later, he's partly conscious, but very distressed, we were told he was dying. My wife found the specialist about to leave in the carpark (he'd missed dropping in to see us at the bedside) - "excuse me doctor, but I'd like to discuss my father". He said "my name is Mister! not doctor!" (seems that when doctors become specialists they get promoted to "Mister" )ok ok - we finally went to see the patient - I said "what a coincidence, they take the catheter out this morning, and tonight he's so distressed". Sure enough, when they checked, he had a bladder like a balloon. Catheter fixed that. He lived. (red faces on the people that had just finished telling us the reason he was distressed was that he was dying). He came home.
Then over the next few years, he had circulatory problems, had one leg off , then the other. Don't forget he has a paralysed arm , - and cannot get past the first word in any sentence he attempts.
Legs by the way were cut off as high as possible. So he resembled a humpty dumpty, with one arm in a sling - who couldn't talk or really communicate other than with nods etc.
He lived like that for ten years. read a lot of books. saw his grandkids born - tried to smile through it all (brave buga) - and finally died in hospital. His wife attended him 24/7, although getting him between bed and wheelchair and vice versa was a real problem. (he was a big framed- man)
1. I'm not necessarily saying he qualified for mercy killing, although he would have probably opted for it if he could.
2. But I start to understand where Dr Nitschke is coming from. I'm sure that there are other worse cases where the case for "a mercival release" would be overwhelming.
2020
Incidentally , I have contaced EXIT to learn more.
- we could all do that I'm sure. This debate will rage into the next decade as we all get older no doubt. My wife and I have both promised each other than we wouldn't want to become a burden.
Another story - I knew a great man who got cancer - ran into a tree at 150kph with a stack of petrol in the car. Yet he had always warned me about VW beetles for that very reason (front end petrol tanks). No question in my mind that he made an early exit. Poor ambulance drivers - surely a sophisticated modern drug would be better!! - BUT as Phillip Nitschke says "the govt hypocritically bans these", so he is forced to come up with the best of a bad set of clumsy alternatives, carbon monoxide etc.
And btw, Dinks posts were informative no question - BUT I still dont agree lol.
PS getting back to my father in law , - the hospital ruined his life - and almost carried out the mercy killing themselves by removing the catheter when he had a stroke and was already EXTREMEMLY distressed (and FORGETTING that they'd removed it!!)
- hence I find Dinks " everythings just fine...- doctors never make mistakes etc" attitude a bit hard to take. "Doctors bury their mistakes"!, - never a truer statement ! and we rarely get to the facts believe me.