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lisod gyod tuod palandungon ning motulibagbag sa iyang hippocratic oath.  kun nganlan na ang usa ka doctor ug dr death, morag baya ug way kalainan sa santo satanas, ngeeeeh...

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Franz Kafka's Last Words


Franz Kafka was born in Prague, Bohemia on July 3, 1883 to a German-speaking, Jewish family. He attended Charles Ferdinand University and received a doctorate in Law in 1906.

Kafka is best known for his short story “Metamorphosis” which he finished in 1912.  In 1913 he wrote Meditation and in 1914, he completed Before the Law. By 1917, he had written The Judgement, In the Penal Colony, and A Country Doctor. Also by then, he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

1923 found him in Berlin, where he penned A Hunger Artist in 1924, which was a collection of four stories. His future novels included The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika.  

In April of 1924, he entered a sanitorium in Kierling, Austria. He died on June 3, 1924. Franz Kafka last words were made to his doctors. As he was dying from tuberculosis, he begged the doctor to give him an overdose of morphine so he would no longer suffer. He said, “Kill me, or else you are a murderer!”  --from http://www.yourdictionary.com/reference/resources/franz-kafka-last-words.html


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He entered a sanitorium prior to his death. Psychosis and deteriorated mental status man diay....

Nowadays, we have what is called hospice care , which is palliative / comfort care for terminal patients.

With the advance of modern medicine, we can now reduce the symptoms of pain until the patient dies naturally.



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Posted by Sasha Brown-Worsham on June 3, 2011 at 12:25 PM
http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/121243/jack_kevorkian_was_a_hero


Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the infamous "Doctor Death," was a champion and a symbol of end of life empowerment to some and a murderer in the eyes of others. But for many of us who have seen a loved one die a long and painful death before our eyes, he was a hero.

Friday, at the age of 83, the good doctor himself died of natural (not assisted) causes.

Kevorkian became infamous over the years for advocating for assisted suicide and went to jail for assisting them. He spent eight years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder for helping more than 100 terminally ill patients end their lives and was released only on the condition that he would never assist another death.

It's true. Doctors do take an oath to do no harm, but as someone who watched a person close to me die in my home of cancer (my mother), I would never blame anyone for wanting to end their suffering and die with dignity.

Kevorkian was unafraid to break the taboo and to TRULY help his patients, not just watch them die slowly and painfully, unable to walk or talk, just shaking and not even knowing their family members by name at the end.

His courage has affected change all over the country. Hospice care with its palliative support and gentle philosophy has taken off. Physicians have become more sympathetic to their pain and more willing to prescribe medication to relieve it.

Now Oregon, Washington, and Montana allow medically supervised suicides and more states will likely follow. A person close to my family chose this way last year when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and her life ended peacefully amidst friends and laughter and love. She was able to say her goodbyes peacefully and leave the Earth on her terms without the indignities so many people will face in death.

If we have to go, why not do it beautifully, the way we want to go?

Kevorkian was a bit flashy for my personal taste. He flew in the face of medicine, decrying their “hypocritic oafs" and sought fame for his acts. The American Medical Association called him “a reckless instrument of death” who “poses a great threat to the public.”

And yet, it was precisely those tactics that enacted change. In this culture, we are all so afraid of death and dying that we hide it away. It's just as valid a part of the life cycle as birth, and yet one we celebrate with great fanfare and one we awkwardly pretend doesn't exist until we can hide away from the person experiencing it.

Death isn't something to hide from. And maybe if we had more choices and had the luxury to choose our times, we would be less afraid. No one would advocate for suicides when a person is young and vital, but terminal illness can be very ugly. I watched my mother decline from a woman who swam four miles a day, practiced two hours of yoga daily, and once trekked in the Andes for weeks on end become a woman who couldn't even take three steps on her own and whose mouth was full of sores from chemotherapy. She chose to ride it out on her own until the end came naturally, but I wouldn't have blamed her a bit if she had decided to end it on her own terms before it got so painful and ugly.

Kevorkian allowed his patients to decide how far down that road they were willing to go and then exit the world the way they wanted. No other doctor has championed his patients more than Kevorkian. Dying with dignity is a right we should all have.

The fact is, there are people living in misery and pain who have terminal diagnoses and would prefer to be dead. If they are not harming anyone else, why would we stop them? If we let our own fears about the unknown stop us from truly helping others, then we are no champions of life. We are just fear mongers terrified of what comes after this life.

Kevorkian was not. And his passion and his courage and his true love of his patients make him one of the more heroic doctors in modern times. No matter what the medical establishment has to say about that.


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Am I a criminal? The world knows I'm not a criminal. What are they trying to put me in jail for? You've lost common sense in this society because of religious fanaticism and dogma. --Jack Kevorkian

Fanaticism obliterates the feelings of humanity. --Edward Gibbon


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CHICAGO, -- The following statement can be attributed to D. Ted Lewers, MD, Vice-Chair, AMA, Board of Trustees:

"Today's sentencing of Jack Kevorkian to a 10-25 year prison term is a strong deterrent to those who would take the lives of patients prematurely.

"The American Medical Association's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs opinion is that physician-assisted suicide is unethical and in direct opposition to the role of physician as healer.

"The AMA remains committed to assuring patients dignity and adequate relief of pain at the end of their lives.

"The AMA has long supported compassionate, quality care for dying patients. We will continue our efforts to teach physicians everything they should know about providing proper end-of-life care.


Source: American Medical Association





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The British Medical Association, a leading European medical ethical board, voted in 2009 to reaffirm its opposition to Assisted Suicide.



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A man must be excessively stupid, as well as uncharitable, who believes there is no virtue but on his own side. --Joseph Addison

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142. Don't defend the wrong side out of stubbornness, just because your opponent happened to get there first and choose the best.

You will go into battle already defeated, and go down in disgrace. Bad is no match for good. It was cunning of your opponent to anticipate the best, and it would be stupid of you to defend the worst. Those obstinate in deeds are in greater danger than those obstinate in words, for there is greater risk in doing than in saying. The vulgar ignorance of stubborn people makes them prefer contradiction to truth and contention to utility. Prudent people are on the side of reason, not passion, whether because they foresaw it from the first, or because they improved their position later. If your opponent is a fool, his foolishness will make him change course, switch sides, and worsen his position. To expel him from the best, embrace it yourself. His foolishness will make him abandon it and his own obstinacy will cast him down.

-Baltasar Gracian

 

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Sometimes you question medical ethics.Kevorkian helps the terminally ill  and so much in pains patients.What difference did he do from doctors who advice to families who have vegetative patients unplugged the machine ?

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I understand your concern, cujo, particularly in regards to the pain of patients. As for terminally ill patients, there is a service called hospice care, which is end of life care, providing palliative care for patients who are dying. They provide patients with analgesia to remove the pain, giving them morphine to nullify any pain sensation. This continues until the natural death of the patient.

The purpose here is to negate the pain, until the death of the patient.

Assisted suicide is the intentional killing of the patient, which is strictly forbidden by the American Medical Association.

In regards to patients who are in vegetative state, if the patient has a DNR status, then he or she will be removed from life support (DNR = do not resuscitate). Even if the families of these patients are against the decision of DNR, it still will proceed since it was the decision/ will of the patient. In the case that the patient gives power to a family member to choose the best medical action in case the patient looses consciousness or has an altered mental status that prevents him/her from making a decision, then the power of attorney goes to the family member. The medical provider and staff would acqiesce to their decision on medical issues, as it is prescribed under the law. If the physician does not listen to the power of attorney, then he or she is liable under law to loose his or her medical license.

In the case of patients who are already brain dead, we strongly recommend to the families that it is best to let natural death take course. We will usually say, "There is nothing else we can do..." It is for the next of kin to decide whether to let the patient die or live. But in most cases, they agree on letting him/ her go.

Even if the patient's family wants to let the patient live via life support, eventually the health insurance company will terminate service , especially considering the fact that it is expensive to put someone on life support.

But we always, always, advice patient families, next of kin, or power of attorney of the realities of brain dead conditions and on vegetative states.



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