ipl-logo

Personal Narrative: End Of Life Decisions

844 Words4 Pages

Monday, we struggle through an end of life decision. After months of watching a slow decline, then a debilitating of diarrhea and vomiting with the inability to keep anything even water down we was faced with a choice. Pursue treatment in the hopes of finding and resolving the problem? Or stop and assist nature in its course? We choose to stop. Did I mention the patient was the family dog? Lucky has been with us for 16 years. He was a German Sheppard with white and black fur. We thought he was the perfect size for our family, not a small toy breed nor a large one. We’re city dwellers in an older part of Chicago which still has large lots and low traffic. Lucky was big enough to be a “dog” yet small enough to fit in that kind of life style. Lucky was brought as a gift for my husband. He was brought when we found out that we would not have to move to Tennessee. So Lucky joined our family that consisted of me, my husband, our kids, and the cat. We used to joke that we …show more content…

So many statements and reasons we worked through- if applied to a person it would have sounded horrible and heartless. And I couldn’t think that if it was this hard deciding to put my dog down, how on Earth will I ever make a decision for my family. We decided to halt treatment and put Lucky down.( I don’t like the phrase , but it’s too hard to keep saying that we decided to kill him, which in reality is what we did. I needed a softer word than “kill”.)I called the clinic, and told them of our decision. They asked if we wanted to see Lucky once more, and we decided to do so. Lucky looked very weak as if he already knew what was going to happen. When Dr.Jean checked on him again he was already gone. Tears filled my eyes as I saw my beloved dog die. We decided to cremate him and burry his ashes right next to Sam, in our back

Show More
Related

  • The AACN Synergy Model

    1345 Words  | 6 Pages

    As a nurse working for many years, I have come across many instances where there has been difficult situations in decision making by patients, families and patient care team. One evening, I received an admission from the emergency department for a patient aged 101 year old, who had a fall and fractured her right pelvis and hip and also diagnosed with pneumonia. The patient has a history of Diabetes Mellitus type 2, Congestive Heart failure, and previous fall resulting in compression fracture at T1-T2, which is not treated surgically, blind in both eyes, and Full Code. Patient is alert and disoriented to situation, time and place.

    Read More

  • Should Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legalized Essay

    1800 Words  | 8 Pages

    Most people would never contemplate whether or not to end their family pet’s suffering, so why can’t people be as sympathetic to their family and friends? In today’s society, the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is one of the most debatable topics. The debates on physician-assisted suicide go back and forth between whether or not patients, specifically terminally ill patients, should have the right to die with the aid of doctors. Opponents believe physician-assisted suicide is morally and ethically wrong for patients to end their lives, and they believe it violates basic medical standards. However, proponents of physician-assisted suicide believe it is a humane and safe way for terminally ill patients to resolve their agony.

    Read More

  • Sam Levine Case Study

    513 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unfortunately stories like Sam Levine happen daily. As a healthcare provider, I am always torn. While reading this case study, I tried to put myself in this scenario. As a wife, I would not want my husband to be burdened with a decision like this. I would think if my Husband was asked this he would assume he is going to die and would give up.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Euthanasia By Philippa Foot

    937 Words  | 4 Pages

    The possible legalization of euthanasia can cause a great disturbance in how people view life and death and the simplicity of how they would treat it. "There are many fairly severely handicapped people for whom a simple, affectionate life is possible." (Foot, p. 94) As demonstrated, the decision of terminating a person 's life is a very fragile and difficult one, emotionally and mentally. Nevertheless, it’s a choice we can make if it is passive euthanasia being expressed.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: The Death With Dignity Act

    1838 Words  | 8 Pages

    The Death with Dignity Act has two arguments: those who believe we have the right to choose how and when we die, and those who believe we do not possess that right; that we should not interfere with the natural order of life. Every year, people across America are diagnosed with a terminal illness. For some people there is time: time to hope for a cure, time to fight the disease, time to pray for a miracle. For others however, there is very little or no time. For these patients, their death is rapidly approaching and for the vast majority of them, it will be a slow and agonizing experience.

    Read More

  • A Death Of One's Own Movie Analysis

    642 Words  | 3 Pages

    The documentary, A Death of One’s Own, explores the end of life complexities that many terminal disease patients have to undergo in deciding on dying and dignity. It features three patients, their families, and caregivers debating the issue of physician-assisted suicide or pain relief than may speed up death. One character, Jim Witcher has ALS and knows the kind of death he is facing and wants to control its timing. Kitty Rayl is suffering from terminal cancer and wants to take advantage of her state’s Death with Dignity Act and take medication to terminate her life. Ricky Tackett, on the other hand, has liver failure and together with his family and caregiver agrees on terminal sedation to relieve his delirium and pain.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Hospice Volunteer

    399 Words  | 2 Pages

    It brought to my awareness both the limitation and the capacity of medicine. Although there was no medical intervention that could cure the diseases of those terminal patients, their quality of life was improved  by an outstanding team of doctors, nurses and volunteers. This awareness helped reconcile myself to the fact that certain things, such as death and terminal illness, can not be avoided or changed. By viewing death as a natural part of life, I will be able to offer my dying patients the best care possible while also understanding my limitation as a physician and a human being.

    Read More

  • Assisted Suicide Argument Against Euthanasia

    819 Words  | 4 Pages

    Currently in the United States only five out of the fifty states have legalized assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is the help from a physician for a patient to end their life because they have a terminal illness. Many people believe that euthanasia should be illegal across the board, however, people who have terminal illnesses should have a right to be in charge of how to end their life. Many people do not want their family to see them at their lowest, and they do not want to see their selves at their lowest either, therefore, giving a person a right to end their life peacefully, should be an individual’s choice. When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness it is devastating going through the long and grueling process of death, for the family and the patient both.

    Read More

  • Pitbulls Research Paper

    1126 Words  | 5 Pages

    A pit bull named Booger saved his owner, Bernann McKinney, when another dog three times his size attacked her. She had to be in a wheelchair after the accident because of nerve damage, so Booger learned how to push her wheelchair. He also opened the door with his mouth and took her shoes and socks off for her. He did all of this without being taught. When her beloved dog died, she missed him so much that she had him cloned.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Unit 2 Creative Writing

    2071 Words  | 9 Pages

    They took each single dog and lifted them into there nice and fresh car. We arrived at the small, quaint house and they started by bathing all of us. Rufus, Herman, Scruffy and every other dog was washed, and brushed which was something they have never gotten to experience. Next they were fed. But, it wasn’t covered in mold, it wasn’t old, and it wasn’t cold.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Let's Talk About Death

    180 Words  | 1 Pages

    Yes it helps. It just when you emailed me the second time for whatever reason it started to make me think about death. I just found it weird that I was in a hospital went on the elevator and saw a priest then went to a completely empty chapel with no mass coming and another priest walked in. I use to go to a church where a priest told us that even if we came to church every Sunday, but let right after we received communion, instead of waiting for him to tell us to go in peace, then we were going to hell. Never went back to that church again.

    Read More

  • A Good Way To Die: Personal Narrative

    200 Words  | 1 Pages

    As everyone knows, death is inevitable. For most people, they don’t get any say on how or when they died. I think that each person probably has a different idea of what a “ good way” way to die looks like. However I think that a lot of people would be pretty similar in nature. A good way to die for me would be after I have lived a long and productive life.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative Essay About My Obituary

    1250 Words  | 5 Pages

    It is not every day you have an assignment that has you write your own obituary. It is not every day that the time of your death in which the assignment takes place is at the very moment you walk out of class or at the time you chose to write the assignment. I never once really thought of my own death, I have not thought much about my life honestly. I wake up day after day like clockwork; Wake up, check social media, drag myself out of bed, decide if I want to wear makeup, look at myself often with dislike, get dressed for the day, get in the car with my friend, the same playlist the very playlist that is not my type of music but keep quiet and go to school, and come back home. Not realizing that at any time, any place I could die.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: A Metaphor For Death

    196 Words  | 1 Pages

    I begin with a sunset, as in the poem the sunset is a metaphor for death. I have myself waking up and realizing it was dark as though I am realizing I am close to death. I refuse to accept this getting up and turning on the light. The light is turned off several times and I have to fight to keep it on and keep living. When it stays on l look for what is turning it off I am subsequently chased down the stairs by an ambiguous being or force.

    Read More

  • Chronicle Of A Death Foretold Narrative Essay

    791 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 1981 novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the narrative recounts the events leading up to the eventual murder of bachelor Santiago Nasar, a man accused of taking the virginity of the defrocked bride Angela Vicario despite the lack of evidence to prove the claim, and the reactions of the citizens who knew of the arrangement to sacrifice Nasar for the sake of honor. This highly intricate novella incorporates a range of literary techniques, all of which are for the readers to determine who is really to blame for Santiago Nasar’s death. Marquez uses techniques such as foreshadowing and the structure of narrative, along with themes such as violence, religion, and guilt to address the question of blame. Although Santiago

    Read More

More about Personal Narrative: End Of Life Decisions

Open Document