The recent articles, letters and conversations about end-of-life treatment, care and choices is welcoming.
Far too often, the reality of death is a taboo subject leaving many people without the ability to make decisions for themselves and their families about final wishes. We are grateful to people who open doors to talk about how we want to live until we die.
Many of those people participate in Concord Regional VNA’s “Dying to Talk” Café, where we host open conversations about death, dying and grief.
We are concerned that public conversation about “right to die/death with dignity” is becoming “too black and white/either or.” In reality, there are many options for death to occur in its natural (and beautiful) process at home or within a care facility. We are privileged to witness this many times.
Hospice and palliative care are affordable, respectful services helping people live each day fully until death. We offer education, expertise and pain management choices from nursing, spiritual care and social work, within the context of a person’s life. We ask people what they want and do our best to help that happen.
We applaud increasing public awareness and conversations about end-of-life choices and care, and hope this continues exploring the depths of options, choices and experience.
Death is rarely black and white – it is much more gray and complex, requiring our attention and action. Together, let us move into a communal, intentional and informed public process honoring the diversity of how we live as we die.
Laurie Farmer and Leanne Tigert
Concord
(Laurie Famer is vice president of hospice at Concord Regional VNA. Leanne Tigert care services manager at Concord Regional VNA.)