Today we the class met on campus. My group presented on the first half of the book, “Happiness is a Choice You Make” by John Leland. The presentation was followed by a lengthy discussion about old age, happiness, and hard decisions. We spent a lot of time discussion whether family members should respect things such as do not resuscitate wishes. Our last discussion question was something along the lines of, “at what point do your honor your loved one’s wishes over your own desire to keep them alive?” This got me thinking about what I would want if I were terminally ill or how I would respond if it were my mom. Personally, I do believe that at a certain point using medical science to extend biological life is inhumane. Being alive involves more than having a heartbeat. I would choose a shorter lifespan with a better quality of life during my last few days over an operation that may extend my life for a few months, but render me bound to a mechanical ventilator during that “extra” time. I would hope that if I were in such a situation, my loved ones would respect my wishes. At some point the trade-off between quality of life and longer lifespan is just not worth it. My mom sees things the same way. This is a discussion we’ve had and a decision we’ve had to make when my grandparents were terminally ill. They didn’t have plans for this situation, so it was something that my family had to discuss when it happened. I’ve always considered myself to be a person who can put logic in front of emotion when it comes to certain situations. I’d like to believe that I would be able to follow my mom’s wishes if such a scenario were to happen. Still, it’s a difficult choice to make when it’s a loved one and not something that I can say with certainty. Overall, it was a heavy discussion and one that stuck in my mind.
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Nicolette Olivia LeWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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