When it comes to end-of-life care, perhaps we do need a bigger hammer

 by Richard Sontheimer.

While sitting one evening with my terminally ill elderly mother, she again asked me to help her end her suffering.  This time it was, “Could you just go get the hammer and hit me in the head?” Her previous requests had included “Son, you are a doctor, can’t you do something to help me with this?”  And then, “They treat animals better than this.”

On previous occasions, I had to remind my mom that we lived in one of the 48 states in the USA that does not have a death-with-dignity euthanasia law.  Her response was, “Then can you move me to Oregon or Washington?”

Rick Sontheimer is an old friend of mine.  His article is well-written, deep and important.  You can access it at Kevinmd.com.