Death and Dying.

A single tear escaped the corner of my eye and burned its was down my cheek the day my great grandmother passed away. Her life departed to a better place of light and love on January 5, 2007 at the Cobalt Lodge. A few years before my great grandmother passed away, she had a severe stroke. The doctor told us that the damaged was irreversible. The stroke caused her to revert back to her first language. Soon her life started fading away. From then on out, the family was living in the shadow of death.

Death transforms our living in ways we don't understand. Through existence, death helps assist to discover what is most important and essential in life. It not only helps us define human nature, it is also an experiential understanding that may help put one in touch their own deepest feelings. Life in this world has meaning only because there is death. Three essays by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Sherwin B, Nuland, and Virginia Woolf each emphasize on a concept of death. Kubler-Ross goes into depth on how the transition of dying is troublesome. Nuland explains that self-destruction evokes many different feelings and leaves an aftermath of dilemmas. Woolf realizes the power of death can be inspirational and learns a life lesson from a tiny moth.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross takes the concept of death in her essay "On the Fear of Death" and embraces it, perhaps allowing her to ease her own fear of mortality. Kubler-Ross describes the different aspects of the dying process. She explains the options for the final days of a terminally ill person; and also the grieving process on how children are treated during the final days. Kubler-Ross eloquently express that humans believe that "Death in its self is associated with a bad act, a frightening happening, something that in its self calls for retribution and punishment." Many humans cannot visualize a peaceful death, instead most expect themselves suffering before their departure. Many people are afraid of dying. Kubler-Ross explains that many different cultures deal with death through traditions and that "Death has always been distasteful to man and will probably always be." Facing death calmly is a theory that many struggle with. As human beings many of us still don't comprehend that death is a natural part of life that everyone becomes acquainted with sooner or later. Kubler-Ross discusses that "Dying nowadays is more gruesome in many ways, namely, more lonely, mechanical, and dehumanized." In society, people have a difficult time facing death calmly. Therefore, each day of our life should become meaningful after we accept death and the fact that we are not here forever.

Through out the whole essay Kubler-Ross goes into depth on how "Dying is becoming impersonal." When a patient becomes sick , he is often treated as if he doesn't have a say in what will happen in the long run. "It is often someone else who makes the decision when and where a patient should be hospitalized" and that shouldn't be the case. It sometimes crosses our mind that if our family member because ill, we disregard that the sick person "Has wishes and opinions, and has the right to be heard." Kubler-Ross strongly feels that sick patients deserve the right to have a say in what happens with them in an event when they become hospitalized. For instance, when I was nine years old my grandfather got very sick. After many years of being a heavy drinker he developed cirrhosis of the liver, and eventually his liver failed. During the progression of his illness, he eventually wasn't capable of making the important decisions. Therefore, he left his life in my mother's hands. The decisions on her part were not easy, but she kept his wishes and opinions into consideration. Over the centuries, many patients "Needs have not changed, only our ability to gratify them." If we live a long and happy life, then we are more capable of coping with death in the end.

Sherwin B. Nuland explains in his essay "Suicide and Euthanasia" that "Taking ones life is almost always the wrong thing to do." Nuland discusses accidents, suicide and physican assisted suicide. When discussing suicide Nuland notes that health care providers who are supposed to be dedicated to saving lives, often do not understand why someone might choose to commit suicide. When discussing physican assisted suicide, Nuland advocates for physican control rather than patient control. Some patients may not be capable of making end of life decisions. Nuland believes that "Suicide is not abominable because God forbids it; God forbids it because it is abominable." Today in society, suicide "Has become fashionable lately." Throughout centuries, if one took their own life it would be considered "A felony against themselves." Throughout the world there are many people who terminally ill that have been involved with assisted suicide. For instance, my grandmother had a severe case of lung cancer. She went to the doctor for a severe cough with chest pain and she was misdiagnosed for pneumonia. Months passed and she was still very ill. Finally, the doctors caught the cancer, but it was too late. The cancer hijacked her whole body and she was given only months to live. My grandmother begged my mom to unplug her respirator. It is simply impossible to sit there and watch your mother suffer in pain. My mother thought about her mothers wish, but she just couldn't come to terms with assisting her mothers death. Finally, one morning she went to visit her mother and she was in the final process of death. So, she asked the doctor is he could turn of the respirator and let her mother go in peace.

Nuland also goes into depth on how teenagers commit suicide. When ever a teenager commits suicide many people say "That stupid kid! How could she do such a thing?" In reality, no one knows what that "Stupid kid" has been through. Recently, there was a story in Canada that is being discussed all over the world. A teenager named Amanda Todd committed suicide because she was being severely bullied for a couple years. All over the internet there are horrendous things such as "How can such a smart kid commit such a dumb act?" People don't know what is going on in others lives whether it is a terminally ill patient, or a young child who is being bullied and is having problems at home. When it comes to suicide or assisted suicide the choice is not ours to make. The choice is the patients or the person who is having problems with life,