Thanks for commenting on the NCR articles Drew. A...

2007-11-06T01:09:10.196-06:00

Thanks for commenting on the NCR articles Drew. And thanks for noticing the new header. I will leave it up for a week or so, then revert back to the original. I don't have any big plans for Thanksgiving, but I am working on a winter one right now.

Did you notice the new Pal-pourri logo? It has a little cinnamon and some pine cones. Mmmmmmm... fresh.

And for those of you reading by Feedblitz or Feedburner, you don't get the embedded video.

Oh yeah and lovely autumn-themed banner Christian....

2007-11-04T08:07:56.172-06:00

Oh yeah and lovely autumn-themed banner Christian. Thanks.

I only read the first one, got bored, and stopped....

2007-11-04T08:07:00.220-06:00

I only read the first one, got bored, and stopped. The article uses all the typical rhetorical techniques, generalizes from a single example, and confuses rather than clarifies...conflation of pas, euthanasia, and withholding treatments in dying patients ('passive euthanasia'); irresponsible generalization of the pope's statements on tube feeding in brain injured people (which basically says it should be continued if necessary for life) with withholding artificial nutrition/hydration in the imminently dying (which the pope did not say was mandatory); i could go on.

1) What really bothers me is the erasure of patients in discussions like this - how do most people want to go when it's their time (hint: it's not with tube feeds and IVF running)? Like all ideological discussions what matters are the ideas and not the human face of sick people and their caregivers (professional or not) trying to make their death as humane is possible.
2) The story about the hospice not giving that guy's dad any food/fluid etc.: these stories are always brought up in articles like this and I'm sure at times they are accurate - we've all seen really poor and inappropriate care given (in all medical settings including home/inpatient hospices). Planting these stories in the middle of such ideological trash makes it impossible, however, to respond.
3) Articles/blogs reiterating these points are a dime a dozen - I think the best response is continuing clear promotion and representation of our work in HPM - keeping the focus on the dying themselves. I think the NHPCO 'it's about how you live' campaign is a good example of this.

Comments on Pallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: The Business of Death; Pal-pourri

Thanks for commenting on the NCR articles Drew. A...

Oh yeah and lovely autumn-themed banner Christian....

I only read the first one, got bored, and stopped....