HW 30-Illness and Dying- Project

Everyone has some sort of definition on what death is, but most of our understanding of this concept is pretty vauge due to the fact that the word death can be interpreted in many ways. When our phones are not working we say they are dead or when somthing goes out of style we say it is dead, but even when we look at the word in a more literal sense it is still vague. obviously if we see a person on the floor unconcios, they are not breathing, their cold and have no pulse we will say that that person is dead. The problem somtimes is that certain senarios arent simmilar to this one. What if there is a person who uncounsios, and they way they recieve there blood and oxygen is artificail ,and yet there is electrical activity in the brain? Do we declare this person to be dead? According to the dominant view to this topic, which is in opposition to my families view, is that death occurs when there is no activity in the brain.

  Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation have rendered that definition inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted. This is now called "clinical death". Events which were causally linked to death in the past no longer kill in all circumstances; without a functioning heart or lungs, life can sometimes be sustained with a combination of life support devices, organ transplants and artificial pacemakers."

What I discovered  through research was that today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": People are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases (cf. persistent vegetative state). The possession of brain activities, or ability to resume brain activity, is a necessary condition to legal personhood in the United States. "It appears that once brain death has been determined … no criminal or civil liability will result from disconnecting the life-support devices." (Dority v. Superior Court of San Bernardino County)"

According to the National Geographic Death doesnt accur at one moment, death is a process, thus making it a frontier to understanding the balance between life and death. Science seems to show that when people hearts stop, organs and tissues can stay in a sort of quazi-daed state for hours. One thing that I found very interesting was a technique used to slow down the death process. Using the theraputic hypothermia, by wrapping sombody in a cooling device, and adding an icy saline chillled to just above freezing into the veins, this drops the body temp to 92 degrees-  Due to this chilling process it slows down the death process and blurs the border between life and death. Lenord Hayflick holds the world record for preserving human cells for 46 years, no one knew how many times a cell can devide until they die, but Hayflick descoverd that it took 50 times of cell devision before they died and called it the Hayflick limit.

 

This topic holds signifigance to me because my grandmother is reaching the end of her days. I remeber when our family came together when we had a family reuinion and after we were done partying we gad a serious descussion, what to do if my grandmother became a vegitable. Do we pull the plug because the brain would not be working or do we let her live until the whole sysytem shuts down? As a family we all agreed (rather violently) that a person is not dead until the whole body shuts down, and that pulling the plug would be out of the options.

 

 

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3815/Overview#tab-Videos/05707_00

HW 29 Reading and Noting Basic Materials

Paying for Medical Care
"American Medicine is the envy of the world. It has some of the best hospitals. Highly skilled, well-trained, innovative doctors and has made significant advances in in biomedical research, but contradictory it is wasteful, inefficient, increasingly irrational and expensive" (Page 65 Landmark)
We devote about 17% of our gross domestic products to health care, which is far more than any other developed country. Despite such high spending our industrialized democracy doesn't guarantee health insurance to all, and according to the United States Census Bureau, 45 million Americans lack coverage. 59% of the United States workers with employer provided insurance have had to sit and watch that coverage diminish before their eyes even as the cost continuing to rise.


Facing Terminal Illness
 The thought that your story is on its final chapters can be very depressing and overwhelming. We all know we are gonna die, but not everyone "believes" they are going to die, but another way to view this situation in another light, would be from Tuesdays with Morrie: "Its only horrible if you see it that way. Its horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But its also wonderful because of all the time I get to say good-bye...Not everyone is that lucky" Pg 57
 I always find it inspirational how Morrie can make any bad situation seem not as terrible as people make it. I think that there is a certain reward in a death that is not quick. One gets time to reflect on life and not only that but although  your dying your not dead, giving one time  to experience the life they have left to the fullest.


The Process of Dying
 The process of dying effects not only the person who is dying but also the loved ones of the person also as seen in the touching story that Beth shared. The stages of death ,from the beginning to end, do take their toll on people(lying to ones self about their mortality, the stripping of pride). One key lesson that Beth got across was being sad about something one has no control over only leaves a person feeling miserable. The fact that they accepted death (the signing of the DNR) shows that they were moving on. One thing that I find interesting about death is that everyone wants an answer to what happens whether it be asking a monk to asking a preacher.

HW 25

Sicko Precis:  


  Here in the U.S our health care is based off of profit rather then care. Since it is run by private ownership, maximizing profit is the biggest incentive. Almost 50 million Americans are uninsured and those who are insured are often victims of red tape and fraud. This is so because every one in the U.S sees themselves as the "lone cowboy". This is in contrast to other countries like France and Britain where they treat people regardless of there condition and they do not charge you, following the saying " we should live in a world of we instead of me".


Evidence: One point that Micheal Moore tries to prove from the movie is that the U.S has a healthcare system is corrupting our government this is seen in the following topics on which he spoke:


*Hillary Clinton was going against the health care system by trying to get the government to pass a universal healthcare bill, after being defeated by the HMO's they then became Hilliary's biggest supporter.


*Edward Keiser presented his "privatized health care system" to president Richard Nixon that boasted "all the incentives are towards less medical care, the less care you give them, the more money you make." The following day, President Nixon called for a "new national health strategy."


Response:
 I always thought that the U.S was had the best healthcare, due to the fact that it is such a powerful nation. It was shocking to hear that we are number 37 in the healthcare ranking. One would think that since The U.S was a superpower it would at least have a healthcare system which is half as good as other countries but this is not the case. Something I found interesting in the movie was the way people are viewed by the industry, as things to make a profit off of rather then people with feelings   They’re having nutty debates about who’s going to mandate how many people,” Moore said. “We’re not cars,” he quipped. The basic idea is that healthcare, the quality of life of the citizenry, is a responsibility and duty of the state. It is comparable to a basic need of the people like primary schools, libraries, universities - all of which have public funding. Healthcare is no different, and it is as important. The idea of insurance companies is mainly to reduce their cost, to hold back money, to avoid paying up. Obviously such a system can in no way guarantee the best measure of healthcare for the average individual out there who isn't a millionaire. 

HW 21

1.Lying to ourselves about the fact that we are mortal.

2.Going through all the stages of death with someone

3.Accepting death as fact; DNR

4.Went to a monk for help; wanting answers

5.Being sick strips ones right of pride

 Beth Bernett did what most people her age(or of any age) would not dare to do, come into a room full of strangers and talk about the death of a loved one. I found it to be very moving and real because it wasn't like she came in and touch the surface of an area in her life rather she jumped right in. And what really made it real was she did not bead around the bush and B.S her listeners, she told her story. Of the topics on which she spoke the two things that really got my attention were going through all the stages of death with someone and accepting death as fact. Accepting death as fact got my attention because it connected to my life personally. The first time I had to accept the fact that my grandfather was going to die was unbearable. The fact that someone will be stripped away from you forever is heart wrenching, so when she talked about how when she knew her husband was going to die (especially when they signed the DNR) it was moving.  


 Also her experience with seeing someone you love go through all the stages of death spoke to me. I personally have never been through all the stages of death with a loved one. Although Ive been to a lot of funerals and have lost loved ones I never actually "sat down" with them. The fact that she did this not only showed fearlessness but most importantly love. I remember thinking if this was to happen to my parents or siblings how would I feel? Would I be strong? Because its different to lose someone you live with then one you do not even if you love both.

Some thoughts I was left with were is denial bad. What I meant by that was is hoping for the"miracle moment" bad. I was wondering this because I know hope keeps up good moral but then again isn't  it better to just accept the situation at hand and go for what it is worth? One thing that I found interesting is that everyone searches for answers. Every one is the same at death because no one know what happens at death and I found it interesting when Beth Bernett went for help to a monk, because inside everyone there is a yearning to know the unknown.

HW 23

Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom Published by Doubleday in September 1997 



Precis: Its become more and more clear that Morrie's illness is taking over him. Weird thing is it seems the closer Morrie gets to death the more insightful he becomes. In fact he considers himself lucky that he gets a chance slowly fade and "enjoy his death".


"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live" Pg 104
 One thing that comes to mind when I read this was how simple this quote is, yet how hard it is to follow(when you're not dying).If we lived life knowing were dying everyday I highly doubt people would spend as much time on things that didn't really matter. You get to focus on what you should have been focusing on all along.


"Forget what culture says. I have ignored the culture much of my life. I am not going to be ashamed. Whats the big deal? And you know what? The strangest thing......I began to enjoy my dependency." Pg 116
Just when you thought you finally found something that would make the situation hopeless Morrie flips it on you. One would think that being dependent would be totally horrible, especially for men, and yet he enjoys it.  I do have to say though it is weird that culture has made this dependency look bad but as he says it can have a flip side to it, people pay top dollar to be pampered and do nothing ,but why does that look bad when you're old?


"Its only horrible if you see it that way. Its horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But its also wonderful because of all the time I get to say good-bye...Not everyone is that lucky" Pg 57
 I always find it inspirational how Morrie can make any bad situation seem not as terrible as people make it. I think that there is a certain reward in a death that is not quick. One gets time to reflect on life and not only that but although  your dying your not dead, giving one time  to experience the life they have left to the fullest.



 From reading this book it is clear for anyone that death is somthing we need to face, but because its not understandable its scary. Morrie shows that we should be at peace with death rather then more stressed out then we need to be. Rather then letting his inevitable death get the best of him he gets the best out of his death.  That fact that this book is real connects to "actual life" makes it more insightful. Also Morrie is very original in his advise making one think how they can better or add to their views of life, and death.

HW 22

Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom Published by Doubleday in September 1997 



Precis: Morrie is a dying man who puts a spin on the way most people view death. After finding out that he has a fatal illness Morrie, along with his best friend Mitch, tries to be the middle man between the living and the dead. As a man going on a journey that all must take and is telling the rest of the travelers what to bring and expect.

"His philosophy was that death should not be embaressing; he was not about to powder its nose" Pg 21

 At this point in the story Morrie had an interview for t.v, and when asked if he wanted make up to make him look good he declined. Personally if I was old and wrinkly I would love to cover it up and try to look as good as I can. Morrie, in contrast, shows us that its good and in fact suggests to embrace the fact that death is out there. I find it interesting that people love to cover up and hide something that is inevitable. We put on make up in false hope that if we look ok we are ok.

"I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it." Pg 33

In the story Mitch had a sudden realization that he had thrown out his dreams in order to be "successful". People tend to think tat if you are successful it doesn't matter if you do not like what you are doing because you are successful. This is not necessarily all their fault because its what society teaches. For example I used to have a job that I hated, but because it paid good I stuck it out. At the end of my term I found myself a man with money who wasn't happy.



"Everyone knows they are going to die," he said again "but not everyone believes it. If we did, we would do things difrently." Pg 81

This caught my attention because of how true it is, this is true in most if not all peoples lives. Something that comes to mind when I read this was is the phrase "out of sight out of mind". Because we push death out of our lives and heads we live like we have all the time in the world. If we lived life knowing were dying everyday I highly doubt people would spend as much time on things that didn't really matter (Facebook) as much they do.

 This book provides the alternative point of view that should be looked for in life. The fact that Morrie is not just sitting back and letting his inevitable death ruin his time that he is alive, is inspirational. Reading this book has made me question the very way I view death. I can only hope that if I was to be in a situation as this I could react the same.

HW 20 Thinking/ Writing Groups

Stephen Gavin
Stephencgavin@yahoo.com

Partners:
Luz_leon93@yahoo.comNormalisweirdluz.blogspot.com
Christopher M. Lilcmm@gmail.com chrism23.blogspot.com
Letcia P. pichardleticia@yahoo.com LP-leticia.blogspot.com