documentary- end game.

[mopinko]

i watched this 40 minute documentary today on the rec of a friend.
it is hard to watch. but it is also inspirational. (sorry that it is netflix. i hope it will get a wider release.)

for me, the hardest thing was to just watch. i am a hospice volunteer and used to being able to hug and comfort people in this situation. i couldnt resist just hugging myself.

i have been on a bit of a hiatus, having had several losses in the last year or so, and also have a loved one struggling 2,000 mi away. it brought my frustration w that into sharp focus.
but it also reminded me how important the work is.

extremely insightful.

https://www.netflix.com/watch/80210691?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Cf696665c647000afb2dc0f877c37a2b0829e80fd%3Afb04a717116389b66249060c8845739b7d6edb86%2C%2C&fbclid=IwAR21g_FmOZbM-M2q0QZHH5O3BwhSES5dkh-pHyzKepxK4uL5hqF1CGbvf9E

[babylonsister]

1. Thanks, I will look for this.

Hospice was there for my mom. I will be forever grateful.

[susanna]

2. I did not say anything when I first watched this, a couple months ago.

I am sorry for that.

This film lifted some heavy weights off of my shoulders. I was my sister's Power of Attorney for medical decisions. She wanted to live forever. I wanted her to as well. But our system of health care was awful to her, and she was denied treatment at crucial stages until all hope was gone. I was the one who had to make the ultimate decision to let her go. My family still debates whether I did the right thing. That broke my heart and still hurts my spirit. I did what I thought was right.

I feel like the mother of the younger woman in this film; I just did not want my sister, my first best friend, to suffer one day more when it had become so obvious that it was over (there is a biological reason that I won't get into, but it was a clear hallmark of impending death).

My sister's hospice team and volunteers were some of the best people in I have ever known, and I will never forget them. They helped and comforted me in ways I cannot even explain.

Bless you so much, mopinko. What you do as a hospice volunteer is life-changing.

Sharing this film touched at least one life, mine, and I am grateful for it. Thank you again.

[mopinko]

3. aawww. thank you.

it is an honor to be a part of this. and i work for a really great agency. and it is the most rewarding thing i have ever done.

i am glad they were there for you. it draws a certain sort of people. happy warriors in the march of life and death. there to lend whatever kind of a hand is needed.

i am so sorry your family still debates this. we run into that once in a while, and it is so hard for the person who has to decide. especially when it is a very young patient, it is so very difficult.
i hope at some point they see that, tho it was you who made the call, really, her disease made the call.

really, it surprised me. like so many people i think that in that situation, i would take action myself and not wait around. i think most of us think that. then when the time comes, you just want those days. you just want to live.
i have a friend right now who is dying of als. in the beginning, he said the same, that he would go out on his feet.
and somehow, he is still here, in the VA, on a vent and suffering. he is able to do so little, and yet he doesnt give up.

it has been a really eye opening experience for me.

you are so very welcome my dear.
peace.

[susanna]

4. My sister wasn't "young" young...

She was 46. But she was the mother to an autistic son, 11, who is now an orphan. His father passed years ago. My husband and I are now assisting his grandparents (who are his current guardians).

Still, you are right. it really was her disease that made the call. I could not let her suffer any longer when every bit of the science background I had said "no more."

Thank you again, mopinko.

You do important work, and I know that from experience. Peace to you, too.

[mopinko]

5. well, i am a tiny cog in a big machine, but

it is an extremely good machine.
we turn no one away, ever. we raise enough funds to cover the uninsured. and we have a really high number of volunteers.
a really great bunch of people.

i am glad that they could help you. in some ways what we do is incredibly simple, and yet it can be extremely complicated. it is, after all, about life.

(((((hugs)))))) to you susanna. i hope your family comes around.

[susanna]

6. Thank you mopinko! (((hugs))) n/t