A Merciful Death !

Japanese who follow the Buddhist faith have a prayer known as " pin pin korrori" which is a simple wish as to how they hope to end their life.   It is a wish for two things.   The first is for a long and healthy life.   The other is for a quick and painless death.

Here in Australia death is often an unexpected visitor, under which we have very little control.  In some cases the interval between the approach of death and its culmination can be mercifully short.  It is more likely that the foretaste of what is to come results in a visit to hospital and for the vast majority of people that is where death will take place.

That is where we will have the least control over the outcome.  Hospitals are places where the main function is preserving life. Anonymous faces hover over a succession of people as they journey from casualty and procedures will be ordered with the intent of keeping that person alive.  It is most unlikely that anyone will take the trouble to determine precisely what is the patient desires if that person is nearing lifes end.

Pain management is now an integral part of hospital treatment, but there are limitations.  There are strict laws that forbid mercy killing and usually life extension takes priority when it comes to the strength and frequency of pain treatment.  In many cases, there is no near relative to negotiate on the patients behalf.

Unfortunately hospital ethos is formulated more towards intervention and as a result a dieing patient is likely to be tubulated or have some last measure treatment inflicted than be allowed to slip away peacefully.   That is the function of  a hospice, where one if available and a bed can be provided.

In recent years, " Living Wills " have received much publicity as a means of expressing our wishes on death but they mostly serve no useful purpose in the hospital system.   For a start they are more likely to be locked away somewhere in our home rather than on our person when we arrive at emergency, and they serve no legal obligation to be followed by hospital staff.

Death seems to be the last old taboo standing when it comes to discussing  the subject with others. It would help to have our thoughts known by our regular GP and it would certainly help if near relatives were clear in advance on what are our wishes regarding the donation of body parts for the transplant system.

Religion often plays an important part in  how we  respond to the inevitability of death.  To some it is a time of great fear.   We are told that this is when we will be punished for our sins while for others it is the entrance to a promised afterlife of  eternal happiness.   There are many religions, and most have vastly different view of what we will see when death parts the veil of vision.

Perhaps a good time to enhance the prospect of  " pin pin korrori " by making sure our wishes about death are known to those who will survive us !