I, for one, am sick of death. As a nurse for 35 years, I always accepted it for the most part. At times, it seemed unjust and it broke me, the Viet Nam vet that died from a blood transfusion laced with HIV, the veteran that just adopted a baby that died from a ravaging cancer- but, death was inevitable, something to respect, something to keep company with, something to give comfort to as much as possible.
I am sick of death. I am so very sick of preventable death, useless death, selfish death. The number one cause of pediatric death... guns, and so many don't seem to care. The people that equate freedom to ignoring public health norms, that ban vaccines from their communities, they guarantee that someone will die because of their arrogance. They don't realize how hard, how painful death can be... and they don't care. Death is hard work. Painfully hard work.
An oncologist once told me, they work to give each patient as much time as they can, even if it's just another week with their loved ones, if that's what the patient wants. They commit to keeping them alive, breathing, and as comfortable that they can.
That is not the grace and kindness I see in our society as a whole today, and it is heartbreaking, and I am sick of it. Societies have an obligation to protect their youth, their elderly, their infirmed, and we are laughing at that with disrespect.
I must apologize... your post was pleasure to read, I'm sure you didn't expect to elicit this type of response. Friendships, loves and losses are personal and treasures. Your fond memories are a memorial to your friend.
Thank you for your meaningful response. I identify with what you say, so there is no need to apologize. Until this decade I had considered this American culture to be one where I watched people consistently help one another, and now I find myself watching others carefully to determine whether to display my usual friendliness. I assume you are a medical professional of some sort, and I appreciate your comments. I just started posting here and will be writing a hodgepodge of my thoughts. Do you write here on Substack?
I, for one, am sick of death. As a nurse for 35 years, I always accepted it for the most part. At times, it seemed unjust and it broke me, the Viet Nam vet that died from a blood transfusion laced with HIV, the veteran that just adopted a baby that died from a ravaging cancer- but, death was inevitable, something to respect, something to keep company with, something to give comfort to as much as possible.
I am sick of death. I am so very sick of preventable death, useless death, selfish death. The number one cause of pediatric death... guns, and so many don't seem to care. The people that equate freedom to ignoring public health norms, that ban vaccines from their communities, they guarantee that someone will die because of their arrogance. They don't realize how hard, how painful death can be... and they don't care. Death is hard work. Painfully hard work.
An oncologist once told me, they work to give each patient as much time as they can, even if it's just another week with their loved ones, if that's what the patient wants. They commit to keeping them alive, breathing, and as comfortable that they can.
That is not the grace and kindness I see in our society as a whole today, and it is heartbreaking, and I am sick of it. Societies have an obligation to protect their youth, their elderly, their infirmed, and we are laughing at that with disrespect.
I must apologize... your post was pleasure to read, I'm sure you didn't expect to elicit this type of response. Friendships, loves and losses are personal and treasures. Your fond memories are a memorial to your friend.
Thank you for your meaningful response. I identify with what you say, so there is no need to apologize. Until this decade I had considered this American culture to be one where I watched people consistently help one another, and now I find myself watching others carefully to determine whether to display my usual friendliness. I assume you are a medical professional of some sort, and I appreciate your comments. I just started posting here and will be writing a hodgepodge of my thoughts. Do you write here on Substack?
No, I never write on substack, ran across your piece on Post and found it touching as you struck one of my many nerves. Thank you.