Pallimed: Arts & Humanities

Thanks all for your comments. Make sure to pass o...

noreply@blogger.com (Christian Sinclair, MD) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:35:43 +0000

Thanks all for your comments. Make sure to pass on via email and your blogs.

Supa Dupa Fresh, please feel free to email me and we will get you in the lineup for hosting.

I found some great new blogs to read and they dese...

noreply@blogger.com (karen) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:40:31 +0000

I found some great new blogs to read and they deserve there awards congrats to all.
http://alzheimersandmomblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the award. This beats "Everybody Gets a...

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:45:40 +0000

Thanks for the award. This beats "Everybody Gets a Trophy Day" at my ld middle school, hands down ;^)

Also very happy to share the abstract. I think severe transparency is a huge element of blogging.

Very clever Grand Rounds!

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Cousounis) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:52:07 +0000

Very clever Grand Rounds!

Great resources here, as always. I'd like to than...

noreply@blogger.com (LeighSW) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:58:26 +0000

Great resources here, as always. I'd like to thank the academy for my award too:)

Christian, Thanks so much for your comment and for...

noreply@blogger.com (Supa Dupa Fresh) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:56:59 +0000

Christian, Thanks so much for your comment and for the shoutout! I'm proud to be part of PCGR once again and will spread the word about the great conversation you enable.

Your idea about expanding the testimonials to bereaved families in general is very powerful. Let's chat sometime soon!

Best wishes,

Supa

Wow! Thanks for the acknowledgement.

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Matlock) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:56:11 +0000

Wow! Thanks for the acknowledgement.

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate ...

noreply@blogger.com (sarah and dale) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:58:52 +0000

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate this Arts and Humanities section of Pallimed. As a hospice nurse I recognize how easy it is for us to take our work too seriously. I also encourage the "normalization" of death and dying in our society. It's common, it happens, it's expressed in art. Thank you.

I too appreciate how well written and thoughtful o...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:30:54 +0000

I too appreciate how well written and thoughtful of a review that was written. My neighbor just turned me onto the Antlers Hospice album. I hear them on satilite radio from time to time. It is beautiful and haunting and radiohead-ish.

I posted the previous comment on enjoying the vide...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:43:58 +0000

I posted the previous comment on enjoying the video interpreation of the song,(I am the poster who was on the hospital ethic committee). I just want to add that, what Dr. Christian thought was a doorbell at the end of the song, might be the data signal on the audio tape that caused the auto reverse on the tape machine to switch on. Not sure about that but I had a similar reel to reel player a long time ago and I remember that there was a similar method to causing the auto reverse to switch. I saw the music video on http://music.aol.com/video/what-sarah-said/death-cab-for-cutie/1682619 and saw the connection between the sound and the auto reverse function. I am not positive but it might be the source of the sound.

Amy, This u-tube version gave me goosebumps. I li...

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Riseman) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:57:21 +0000

Amy, This u-tube version gave me goosebumps. I liked Coldplay before, but they really stand out now. Thanks for sharing. Now I have to see this movie.

It is very sad. It was not something I ever reall...

noreply@blogger.com (Amber Wollesen, MD) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:46:18 +0000

It is very sad. It was not something I ever really encountered before I started practicing Palliative Medicine. The first time someone made a comment like that to me, I remember being so surprised that they would actually think that. Thanks for your comments.

Loved this movie! It was excellent to see real pe...

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Pam) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:15:04 +0000

Loved this movie! It was excellent to see real people, very much engaged in living in the face of limited years. As they experienced deaths within their own group, they drew together to honor their friends and to still bring joy to others. My teenagers even thought this was a great movie!

Unfortunately, I have had patients ask me to end t...

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Practitioners Save Lives) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:48:18 +0000

Unfortunately, I have had patients ask me to end their suffering. They have used the same analogy of putting our beloved pets down when they are suffering (endstage of course). I explain that though I can somewhat understand their want to end it all, as a health care provider, I cannot do as they ask me. It is a sad thing though. I think that it's something that I would consider if I were in a tremendous amount of pain or extremely short of breath as the COPDers are. I'm glad that there is better pain control for a better quality of life now.

Amazing. I was on a hospital ethics committee and...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:45:52 +0000

Amazing. I was on a hospital ethics committee and have been on 3 livings wills. I will share this link in a talk I will be giving on Living Wills and Death and Dying.
Remember, as Bob Dylan sang, "He not busy being born, is busy dying"

Amy I really like these symptom oriented galleries...

noreply@blogger.com (Christian Sinclair) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:08:37 +0000

Amy I really like these symptom oriented galleries you do.

Long time reader, second time commentor. You're n...

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:55:33 +0000

Long time reader, second time commentor. You're not talking into thin air. I'm the only palliative care nurse at my hospital and my days can be crazy. But I always try ro read your blog. It kind of keeps me centered. I'm not the only one trying to do this. Thank you very much for all your time and effort, it's really appreciated.

This post is heartwarming. As a child, I loved fun...

noreply@blogger.com (Frances Shani Parker) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:43:11 +0000

This post is heartwarming. As a child, I loved funeral food. The funeral home had a room where mourners could eat free refreshments. This was after viewing the body at the wake. Chicken salad sandwiches cut in triangular shapes without the crusts were my favorites. As much as food costs, I couldn't believe people would cut the crusts from bread slices. But I guess that made them even more of a delicacy. Each morsel thrilled me!

To this day, I love chicken (and tuna) salad sandwiches. And when I cut any sandwich into triangular shapes, it goes up a few notches in enjoyment. But I eat the crusts! lol

The first time I saw long lines at the mall Cinnab...

noreply@blogger.com (Frances Shani Parker) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:53:53 +0000

The first time I saw long lines at the mall Cinnabon location, I remember thinking how clever the inventor was to manifest such a simple idea into a food lovers’ delight. I felt some of that when I read this post. This is the first post I have read with so much detail about commenting on blogs. It’s so simple and practical.

I understand how intimidating writing can be for the general public. All those years of red-ink corrections on English papers created negative memories for many. But I encourage those who are reluctant to take the comment leap. Go ahead, even if it’s one sentence or one word. In addition to all the benefits Christian mentioned in the post, it will be empowering for you to have your contribution out there in cyberspace positively impacting thoughts of others. That’s what one person making a difference is all about.

Frances Shani Parker
"Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog"
http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/

I'm glad it didn't work too! Again, excellent pos...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Marks) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:43:11 +0000

I'm glad it didn't work too! Again, excellent posts. I love this art section on your blog. Great idea and execution.

A very moving online memorial I found on one of my...

noreply@blogger.com (Christian Sinclair, MD) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:17:33 +0000

A very moving online memorial I found on one of my hobby sites (Board Game Geek) from a husband about his recently deceased wife, Roberta Lukes. They shared a love of board games and he wrote a 'Geek List' of games that they had played together that helped weave the story.

Look at the number of supportive comments from people who knew him and his wife and from complete strangers. These acts of support and kindness in online communities are very interesting to observe.

And Sean, I am glad your thought experiment didn...

noreply@blogger.com (Christian Sinclair, MD) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:03:27 +0000

And Sean,

I am glad your thought experiment didn't work!

Wow that is really surprising to hear from an este...

noreply@blogger.com (Christian Sinclair, MD) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:03:07 +0000

Wow that is really surprising to hear from an esteemed bio-ethicist.

I agree that sometimes seeing the tough ethical challenges every week as is common in palliative care does make some ethical challenges look more trivial to us where others would see a very difficult decision in front of them.

But then again it is really a matter of perspective. To someone else the story of the prisoner may seem very obvious as to the outcome. They may wonder where the ethical conflict is based on their background and life experiences.

It is something I have to remind myself more often that 'common' end of life ethical challenges to me may be fresh, new, and challenging to others (patient, family, staff) and I must temper any cavalier approach to finding 'obvious' answers with a touch of humility and graciousness to those who do not have my same experiences. Only then can I stop and listen and help make a decision based on multiple views and not just my own.

Great piece! Thanks.

I like your review and from the sounds of things, ...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Marks) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:23:38 +0000

I like your review and from the sounds of things, you certainly are NOT being too critical. I'd like to take aim at the title of the book, "The Woman Who Decided to Die." Not to sound too glib, but it's not as if one can just close their eyes, sigh and say "aahhh, I'm going to die now." Just tried it myself, didn't work.

To me this misconception gets at the heart of this issue in regards to the big public debate about end-of-life care. Certainly, there's already been many more excellent and thoughtful entries on this web site about the debate, and I hate to morph your book review on this tangent. But these cases aren't about people choosing to die, they're about people honestly facing the life-limiting nature of their disease and then choosing care that helps them individually account for it.

Michele Ruth When my father was actually diagnosed...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:27:37 +0000

Michele Ruth
When my father was actually diagnosed with ALS it was Dec 23, 2006. I had already suspected since July of that year. At my mothers funeral people kept asking me when my father had a stroke. He hasn't I would answer them. The VA had done an MRI..., said he had not had a stroke, so in their infinite wisdom sent him to speech therapy.
I knew. In my gut. I had to practivcally throw a temper tantrum to get him to KU. I think he knew also. When he was offered the medication that MAY give him a few more months he refused. No one played games with him. Thank God. Thank God for Dr Baron at KU. He knew what was to come. He never lied to my father. I think it is cruel to not let a person know the truth so they can plan. Say what they want to say. Get things in order. So other people can say what they needed to say. All of us, including my father, gave ourselves quality time that was so precious. No pretending was in it. He knew, we knew. we loved.