So

[michaelboy]

Most of the deaths I encountered in the ten years that I volunteered in the Sewickley Hospital emergency room in Pittsburgh were due to heart disease.

In one moment, a man my age was routinely taking out the garbage at home and in the next all there is for the family to see was the stub of an intubation tube in the mouth of a lifeless body.

If there is one thing I could say to folks, is to please do not wait until someone like me leads your grieving partner and family into a silent treatment room. It's really hard and really really sad. I promise. So please make yourself a promise -- to eat better food, and to start to make exercise and healthy living more of a regular part of your life.

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Comments

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Most people want to avoid death as long as they possibly can. The problem with this is that it predictably leads to dying of things that can't really be fixed, and often that means spending one or more years miserably sick before finally expiring.

In contrast, heart problems are among the quickest and cleanest of common deaths. For some people this is greatly preferable to, say, dying of cancer or Alzheimer's.

So think not just about when you want to die, but how -- and how not.

Re: Well ...

[michaelboy]

Thank you. Of course, this makes complete sense. I've been involved volunteering with hospice for several years and I do understand first-hand the importance of considering how one will die or not. The mother of my children died fighting for over ten years with metastatic breast canver and her last days were very difficult and painful. Notwithstanding, for her, she was grateful to have the extra time to see our children mature. It's a very complicated matter where each situation is necessarily unique.