Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.937
EAN num: 9780963103390
ISBN number: 0963103393
Label: Kathy Helm Assoc
Manufacturer: Kathy Helm Assoc
Page Count: 137
Printing Date: March 31, 2005
Publishing house: Kathy Helm Assoc
Sale Popularity Level: 1914334
Studio: Kathy Helm Assoc
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
ABC-TV's Nightline introduced millions of viewers to Laura, her husband, Joe, and her health care team when covering the Terri Schiavo story in 2003. The viewer response was so strong, it produced a second program on Laura and Joe's guidelines for dying 'a good death.' The authors want American families and health care providers to begin a dialog about death and dying issues and have individuals reclaim responsibility for their end-of-life decisions. Today, we hear about living wills and Terri Schiavo's 'true' last wishes. Laura Schmidt was a 51-year-old medical writer and hospice volunteer pursuing a master's in the study of death and dying when she was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Laura had very strong opinions about improving how people die in our present society. She began writing this book to share her expertise with other patients, their families, and health care providers. Laura and Joe are proponents of patient's rights, health care power of attorney, and changes in health care. After her death, Joe added his story and guidelines for caregivers. Together they empower others to make wise decisions, document them, and discuss them with family members in order to achieve 'a good death.' 'I have seen a few 'good deaths.' But more often, I have been appalled by the many 'bad deaths' in our society-those where key issues such as inadequate pain management, ignored patient wishes, loneliness and isolation have dictated a dying patient's final days and minutes...death is no longer seen as a 'beautiful ritual.'' Laura, A Good Death
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Rated by buyers -
This book was a revelation to me. Unless you've been confronted with a terminal illness in your own family, it is hard to imagine how truly difficult it is to achieve a good death in this country. The paperwork, the numerous doctors and procedures, the simple will to get up everyday and fight cancer and retain your dignity, all of these tasks seem monumental and insurmountable. But Laura Schmidt and Joe Pizzarello helped me to figure out how to navigate the health care system, what paperwork is crucial to honor my wishes should I not be able to articulate them myself, and how to retain my sense of self as someone who isn't just a 'cancer patient'.
What I didn't expect from this book, and what ultimately inspired me the most, is the all too rare love and support between Laura and Joe, and the incredible network of friends and family who were there at every turn. I also took hope from the small acts of kindness from supermarket employees and hairdressers in this book-you often feel so very alone when you become a 'cancer patient' and these small monents in the book were very reassuring to me. It really is a blessing to know that, in the darkest of hours, the love that sustains us is the love that will show us how to endure cancer and achieve a good death. While it saddens me to think about Laura's passing, I am so grateful that she and Joe were able to share with me their very hard-earned knowledge. Now I am confident that I, too, will be able to dictate my own treatment regime and my own wishes for the end of my life.
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