We die like ....

It's not a joke. As a culture we die poorly.

Our hospital is in the beginning stages of implementing a Palliative Care program. Palliative Care is about helping patients and their families prepare for their final days of life. It is mostly for patients with chronic medical conditions; such as, COPD (emphysema), CHF (chronic heart failure), End stage renal failure (kidney disease), terminal cancers and others.

For awhile the "Terry Schivaio" case stirred a lot of media, indignation and rhetoric, which like maggots, once a topic has been devoured they move on like it never happened. (Yes, I feel better after that comment!" Thanks for asking!) The problem is that patients just like her AND WORSE are living, if you call it living, this every day in every hospital in America and other countries.

We die so poorly. I wonder sometimes if it not because we live poorly and that it's the natural result of that.

I remember in college our Systematic Theology professor would declare, frankly threathen us, with "You tell me what you believe about the Devil and I will tell you what you believe about God." Admittedly, it pretty easy to imitidate a 20 year old college junior, but that statement stills rings in my head 26 years after I took that class.

My upgrade to the question is: Who want to know why we as a people die so poorly? Look how poorly we live.