Reflection On Mortality

They used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness. Greased they 'd say. Offed, lit up, zapped while zipping. It wasn 't cruelty, just stage presence. They were actors. When someone died, it wasn 't quite dying, because in a curious way, it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they called it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself. "

“Tuesdays with Morrie” and “The Death of Ivan Ilych” both portray a character who is dealing with a serious terminal illness and advance knowledge of their deaths. One story is based on the realistic life of an American professor with the story’s characteristics tone from the 1990’s while the other is set during nineteenth century Russia. Even though Morrie Schwartz and Ivan Ilych both suffered from the illness, their dissimilar lifestyles and beliefs led to different perspective on facing death. One views the knowledge as a blessing and an opportunity to share his life experiences before making his final good-byes, the other agonizes in pain and begs for an

Last year 23 September 2012. I had a resident called “Mrs X” she was a 72year-old widowed living at ---, a Nursing Care Home. She’s not a religious type of person as she was Atheist. She has lived in the home for the past two years, and during that time I was assigned as her key worker. Mrs X had One Son and 3 grand daughters they are all regular visitors to the home. She has recently been diagnosed with renal failure, and her life expectancy is only a couple of months without dialysis. In the past Mrs X has made it clear that when her “time comes” she wants to be able to stay at Belmont House, and “go quietly”. She has stated that she does not want any treatment that will prolong her life. This means

This case surrounds the controversy brought about by the Arizona state legislature defunding life-saving organ transplant operations. In 1987, the Arizona state legislature voted to eliminate funding for most organ transplants for the indigent through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). At the same time of this decision, the legislature voted to extend health coverage to pregnant women and children in a “notch group.” The public controversy began when Dianna Brown died after being denied coverage for a liver transplant that would have saved her life. After her death, there was wide spread

Death is one of the most avoided topics because of the finality that comes with it and the fear of the unknown after death. However, there are quite a number of authors such as AtulGawande, Elisabeth Kubler-ross and Ira Byock who have attempted to go ahead and deal with death as a topic and other connected topics.Each of these authors have delved into one of the most revered topics that is death including related topics that come with it such as the dying process itself. Ira Byock’s Dying well: Peace and possibilities at the end of life is a book that looks at the moment prior to death when an individual is terminally sick and is at the point of death. A

Corr, C. A., Corr, D. M., & Bordere, T. C. (2013). Death & dying, life & living. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

    As of late, we’ve become familiarized with the concept of hospice through guest speakers and readings (Class notes, 2016). Through Descendants we learned the importance of advanced care directives and widened our EOL conversation to focus more on family than the patient (Payne). Through another guest speaker and lecture we also talked about expressive therapy and its imperativeness on patient and family care (Class notes, 2016). During our week not in class, we read articles on grief, coping, and social support and it’s importance to communication at the end-of-life, additionally, we saw the five stages of grief after watching the Scrubs episode (Class notes, 2016). Lastly, we closed with potpourri week in which we learned about the different religions/cultures and their views on the afterlife (Class notes, 2016).

I believe the average American’s view of death and the dying process has slowly changed throughout time. The slow change in our population’s view of death can partially be contributed to the negative view the media often casts on death and the dying process, as well as the lack of the connection many American’s have with their aging family members. In the past, family was often present during the aging and dying process. However, families are often nuclear units currently, and are not as involved as they once were. Rather than having a personal experience with death and the dying process and truly having a personal view, many individual’s views regarding death are often influenced by the negative portrayal in the media.

This report is based upon the book “The Last Lecture”, written by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow published in 2008. It is a motivational book about living while dying. The book emerged after Randy Pausch, a professor who had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer, gave a lecture titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” at Carnegie Mellon University. The book described Randy's life which focuses on the importance of achieving dreams, of overcoming obstacles, and of seizing every moment. There are several elements described in this current book report: information about the authors, informative summary, overall analysis, and my personal reaction to the

It has often been said that death is the only thing that truly unites the human race. While not a particularly pleasant thing to talk about, it is true. In 2016's Oscar Award nominated short Extremis, the issue of mortality is confronted head-on at an ICU as doctors, families, and patients make end-of-life decisions.

The intent of this paper is to write about a class experience of the shadow of death, and reflect upon the readings, discussions and personal stories that have emotionally impressed me. Terms such as euthanasia, suicide and death rituals were discussed during the lectures in class leaving me with a sense of loss. The many beliefs and world vies, that may differ from the American culture, were considered, which I found to be enlightening. The examination of various concepts such as practicality, wisdom and humor were presented and illustrated in “Understanding dying, death, & bereavement” written by Leming and Dickinson (2011).

Larry R. Churchill in the non-fiction piece, “Embracing a Broad Spirituality in End of Life Discussions and Advance Care Planning”, identifies the concerns individuals encounter when thoughts of death flood their mind. Churchill begins by introducing readers to a web link with a provoking name, DeathOverDinner.com. He informs the readers that the idea behind the web page is to initiate tough conversations over a casual activity. In the article we are told that “These conversations must focus on the spiritual dimensions of death” (Churchill 760). Rather than just the typical worries that come to mind when dying becomes a reality.

The article, “Death and Dying in the Curriculum of Public School: Is there a place?”, written by Ethel L. King-McKenzie is contained within the book “Death Dying and Bereavement” composed of by its two main authors Dickinson’s, and Leming. Addresses the fear of death individuals have and how that fear is promoted in our youth by sheltering children from death. By implanting a curriculum surrounding death and dying, students can grow up to surpass disregarding older generations and overcome stigmas involving death. Not discussing death and allowing the dying process to be a part of our live negatively impacts our coping skills. Tools of which, are a salient aspect in life as every human will encounter death in their lives. In addition, the

On Death and Dying By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross For my book review, I read On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Dr. Kubler-Ross was the first person in her field to discuss the topic of death. Before 1969, death was considered a taboo. On Death and Dying is one of the most important psychological studies of the late twentieth century. The work grew out of her famous interdisciplinary seminar on death, life, and transition. In this paper, I give a comprehensive book review as well as integrate topics learned in class with Dr. Kubler-Ross' work. Like Piaget's look at developmental stages in children, there are also stages a person experiences on the journey toward death. These five stages are denial/isolation, anger, bargaining,

1.)     Explain how the answers to the self-inventories in the text concerning facts, attitudes, beliefs and feelings about death reflect our societal understanding or lack of understanding of death. I think that the self- inventory question reflected on both our understanding and lack of understanding about death related topics. Some of the answers to the questions on the inventory I knew without look at the answers, but some of the answers actually surprised me. The question about the death certificate was one of the questions that actually surprised me. I assumed before I did the inventory that every death certificate had a specific cause of death that was given on the certificate. Another answer that