Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

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pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

Post by pete75 »

Jdsk wrote:I enjoy his writing.

This is a timely reminder to plan how you want to be cared for and how you want to die. And then make sure that those close to you know and understand your wishes. And that you've done the necessary bumf. Don't put it off.

Getting this right (or wrong) affects many people. "Assisted dying" very few.

Jonathan

PS: What do people think it means when a newspaper uses "leading" to describe a doctor?


It means they want to push his/her views.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Mike Sales
Posts: 7883
Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

Post by Mike Sales »

pete75 wrote:Dylan Thomas had a different view

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



I am not sure of that.
Is it good to die full of anger and desperation, or better to be reconciled to the inevitable?
Should one's last emotions be so hopeless and distressed or should one relinquish life knowing death is an inevitable part of it, and accepting peace?
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
irc
Posts: 5192
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 2:22pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

Post by irc »

I'm all for it. My dad, aged 90, asked his GP to kill him about 3 weeks before his cancer finally took him. He had no quality of life those last 3 weeks.

Seeing a strong man, in his younger days a champion wrestler, leading rock climber, local activist, healthy and active for 89 years reduced to immobility wearing a nappy and needing to be hand fed and assisted with everthing when the end was clearly very near was tough.

I was there with my sisters when he died. Coincidentally he died 5 minutes after a painkilling injection was given by a nurse. I think it very likely that was what finally gave him peace. It was only a matter of degrees. No question a drug induced death 3 weeks earlier would have been better for him.
Tangled Metal
Posts: 9505
Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

Post by Tangled Metal »

Assisted suicide or dying is IMHO a moral or ethics question than a medical question. So do we attribute too much importance to the views of medical experts? Why? Are other more appropriate experts not being heard on the matter?
Mike Sales
Posts: 7883
Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

Post by Mike Sales »

pete75 wrote:
Dylan Thomas had a different view


Roger McGough took another view.

"Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I'm 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I'm 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death "
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon, author and cyclist calls for assisted dying inquiry.

Post by pete75 »

Mike Sales wrote:
pete75 wrote:
Dylan Thomas had a different view


Roger McGough took another view.

"Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

"


And George R R Martin from Game of Thrones

“...How would you like to die, Tyrion son of Tywin?"
"In my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a maiden's mouth around my cock, at the age of eighty," he replied.”
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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