November 11 2016

Friday, November 11, 2016

In memory of November 11.

I still can't believe what they did to Randy and me.  Those precious hours that I was prevented from being with Randy before he died.  Why.  I still want to know why. Randy wanted to see me so who made the decision that I could not see him. Who, a broken medical system that controls 50% of our economy.  Who are these people.

I could not even see Randy on the sidewalk away from the hospital for a few minutes because it was too much work for our gigantic expensive health system designed for patients to arrange as I was banned from accessing all VCH properties. The first time I met Nurse Ratchet in 2010 when Randy was transferred from VCH to GPC she came down on me dictating that if I wanted to visit Randy, I would have to sign a visitor's contract.  Where did that come from: a visitor's contract.  Later I learned this is common practise.

We speak of the fallen soldiers this day.  What about Randy who believed in justice and in country and in family.  What about him.  What about him being badly treated by denying him his rights by our own government (health care system). They are not suppose to be the enemy. We should not be afraid of them.

What about the mothers in Ontario who spoke on national television that they are afraid to talk after being abused by health professionals when giving birth because their children might need medical attention later on.  What about them.

When people are afraid to talk, then the medical system is the enemy.
---------

I am off to the November 11 memorial service at Hastings and Cambie ... Victory Square.

You do not have to be a soldier to die for your country.  Randy also died for his country.

1:OO PM

Randy November 2013

I remember when Randy was transferred to George Pearson Centre from Vancouver General Hospital in November 2013, no one would tell me where he was.  He was gone and when I went to the nurses station they were all there maybe one-half dozen of staff milling around.  It was policy.  If a patient is transferred VGH will not tell you where he went.  I was extremely upset and not one of them would help me. It was as if they were laughing at me.They knew something that I did not and they enjoyed seeing me in distress.  I was not an occasional visitor, they all knew me, I would go to see Randy every single day. VGH knew for weeks ahead that Randy was to be sent to George Pearson Centre and yet I was not privy to this information. Randy could not tell me as he could not talk. That sick policy is still in effect. So you never know if someone died or not.

Finally, some states are making medical assisted suicide a criminal act

Ohio passes bill making assisted suicide a felony.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition  (9 Decemer 2016)

Ohio Senate

Great news: The Ohio Senate passed HB 470 last night.

Ohio has become the Fifth State in the past few years to strengthen protections in law from assisted suicide.

The Ohio Senate voted on House Bill 470, a bill that would make assisting a suicide a felony in Ohio on Thursday December 8. HB 470 had previously passed in the Ohio House last May by a vote of 92 - 5.

Jeremy Pelzer, reported for Cleveland.com  on November 7 before the vote that:

House Bill 470 ... would make knowingly assisting in a suicide a third-degree felony in Ohio, punishable by up to five years in prison. 

Currently, Ohio law only permits a court to issue an injunction against anyone helping other people to kill themselves. 

If the Senate passes the bill on Thursday - expected to be the last day of the legislative session - it would head to Gov. John Kasich for his signature. The measure passed the Ohio House 92-5 last May. 

State Sen. Bill Seitz, the Cincinnati Republican who authored HB 470, said the legislation mirrors Michigan's 1998 ban on assisted suicide, which was passed in response to Dr. Jack Kevorkian's well-publicized campaign.

This should be what we should be doing in Canada. Anyone who is hastening the death of another be it by assisting suicide or attaching a DNR on a patient without his consent should be thrown in jail. I still cannot get over how our government allowed Dr Dunne to put on DNR/DNT Orders on my husband, Randy Michael Walker, and when I complained the powers would not even remove Dr Dunne from being Randy's physician. Although I had a representation agreement on Randy, the powers decided that I should not be involved in this lethal discussion. I am sure Dr Ellen (Hemlock AID) is still doing euthanasia every day and causing her exhaustion from the vast tnumbers yet no comment comes forth. What kind of nation are we. The safeguards supposed safeguards can be easily circumvented to render them useless. Even the waiting period is a joke. 604.321.2276

Comment: Note this quote: “Mark's death underscores how little the world knows about real-life cases of euthanasia, as opposed to the sanitized versions which appear in politicians' speeches.”

Nancy V.

https://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/netherlands-offers-euthanasia-for-alcoholics/19066

Netherlands offers euthanasia for alcoholics

It's certainly less bother than a 12-step program in Alcoholics Anonymous

Michael Cook | Nov 28 2016 | 18

The ever-expanding circle of eligibility for euthanasia in the Netherlands now includes alcoholism. Writing in the Dutch magazine Linda, journalist Marcel Langedijk describes the grim life and death of his brother Mark, a hopeless alcoholic.

After eight years and 21 stints in hospital or rehab, Mark decided that he had enough. He had two children but his marriage had collapsed; his parents cared for him and he had plenty of family support, but he was unable to dry out.  

Finally he asked for euthanasia. Physically he was quite ill and psychologically he was suffering badly. He met the minimum criteria for euthanasia in the Netherlands. A woman doctor in a black dress and sneakers arrived to give him his lethal injection. She confirmed his decision and then gave him three doses. He died quickly. 

Mark's death underscores how little the world knows about real-life cases of euthanasia, as opposed to the sanitized versions which appear in politicians' speeches. Isn't this just another case of society giving up on a person who had given up on himself? What comes next? Will Dutch drug addicts be encouraged to take the cheapest drug rehabilitation program ever? Just one needle and you are "cured" forever...

Mr Langedijk is writing a book about his younger brother’s disease and his death through euthanasia which will be published next year. 

Michael Cook is editor of MercatorNet.

I wonder if her sneakers were black....

	10:36 PM (6 hours ago)

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/12/13/demand-for-medically-assisted-death-continues-to-rise-in-alberta

Demand for medically assisted death continues to rise in Alberta

BY KEITH GEREIN
FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 10:17 PM MST | UPDATED:
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 10:55 PM MST


Sixty Albertans have received medical aid to end their lives this
year, as demand for the service continues to grow across much the
province.

New statistics released Monday by Alberta Health Services show the
number of assisted deaths has essentially doubled in the past two
months, a trend that has confounded health leaders.

Instead of tapering off following an initial surge of interest, demand
appears to have grown stronger through the fall and into the start of
the holiday season — months after new federal legislation came into
effect.

“It’s still quite out there and people are aware of it and are
therefore thinking about it as an option,” said Dr. James Silvius,
AHS's lead for medical assistance in dying preparedness. “Whereas a
year from now when it’s not so prominent, people may not be thinking
about it the same away. At least, that’s my guess.”

The statistics show 90 per cent of the deaths have taken place since
June 17, when the new federal law removed the need to obtain a court
order to receive the service.

Silvius said the province had been averaging two to four deaths per
week from June to September, but that rate has since gone up to about
three to five per week.

In addition to the procedures that have been performed, 28 other
requests for medical aid in dying have been rejected because the
patients did not meet one or more legal criteria. Common reasons why
people are deemed ineligible include a having a mental health
diagnosis, a loss of capacity or competency, or failing to have a
condition where death is “reasonably foreseeable,” AHS said.

The higher-than-expected demand has put pressure on a small team of
nurses hired by the health authority to respond to the requests and
navigate patients through the process.

Silvius said one more position has recently been added to better
handle the workload, and extra nurses could be hired if the trend
continues to escalate.

“Obviously, it would be nice to have more but I don’t think we are
delaying anybody because of the number of navigators we have,” he
said.

AHS has also been struggling to find additional doctors willing to
assist a patient’s death.

An initial survey of physicians earlier this year found 150 or more
who said they would be willing to provide the service, but far fewer
have come forward.

Silvius said AHS plans to send a new survey to doctors early in the
new year, in part to gauge the reasons for physicians’ reluctance.

“It also gets into what role would they be prepared to play. We will
ask, ‘Would you be willing to be a consultant, or an assessor? Or
would you be willing to actually be a provider?’”

Silvius said AHS will also reach out to Alberta’s 450 nurse
practitioners, after they received cabinet approval last week to
provide medical aid in dying.

Associate health minister Brandy Payne said the approval should
provide additional options for people wanting the service,
particularly patients in rural and remote areas of Alberta who may not
have regular access to a doctor.

Alberta’s demand appears to be roughly comparable with other
provinces, Silvius said. He said Alberta has been one of the best
prepared jurisdictions and the process has been working quite smoothly
overall, despite the higher-than-expected requests.

Close to half of Alberta’s assisted deaths (28) have occurred in the
Edmonton zone.

Cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis are the
three most commonly cited conditions among the patients who have
received the service.

As of the end of November, six patients requesting medical aid in
dying have been transferred to AHS care from another health agency,
such as Covenant Health, Silvius said.

Covenant, the Catholic-based health organization, has said it will not
allow medical aid in dying to take place in any of its hospitals,
continuing care facilities or palliative care units.

By the Numbers: Medical Aid in Dying in Alberta

60: Total deaths that have taken place in 2016.

28: Deaths in the Edmonton zone.

19: Deaths in the Calgary and central zones.

8: Deaths in the south zone.

5: Deaths in the north zone.

6: Deaths that occurred between Feb. 6 and June 17, when a court order
had to be obtained.

41: Deaths that have taken place in a facility.

19: Deaths that have taken place in the community, including at home.

70: Average age of people who received the service in Edmonton.

kgerein@postmedia.com

twitter.com/keithgerein

 

 

What is the toll for BC

 

 

Affordable Housing

I just viewed a documentary about Hamburg.  It reminds me of Vancouver. Private land developers took over Hamburg causing a terrible affordability problem there as well.  It seems affordability is fueled by the knowledge that there is an affordability problem: those that can will borrow, beg and steal for down payments to buy properties before prices get worse thus creating a demand that inflates property values that cannot be reversed.  No government will do anything to lower the value of real estate.  It would be political suicide.

Think about this.  A friend of mine who earns $80,000 a year pays $1,000 a month for a suite in a house.  This low-level suite has two bedrooms and mirrors the upstairs in size.  He complains that his rent is too high.  He pays less than 10% of his income on rent; I pay 50% of my income on rent and my living space is 50% less than his.  Go figure.  Maybe my friend is an outlier.  But then how many outliers are there.  There is no way of knowing.

And remember Libby Davis.  Libby Davis lived in social housing while she was a federal member of parliament.  So much for the NDP and this fighter for social issues.  She could well afford to rent elsewhere and leave that unit open for those that truly needed low-income housing. 

Euthanasia might have been necessary fifty years ago

Comment: This doctor describes an aunt's death from cancer with unrelieved pain almost 50 years ago. He than explains how with training in palliative care, doctors can care for such people today so that they do not die this way. It seems to me that when the question of unrelieved pain comes up, the situations people think of may have happened a long time ago.


http://www.theage.com.au/comment/i-believed-that-euthanasia-was-the-only-humane-solution-i-no-longer-believe-that-20161118-gss921.html

November 20 2016 - 11:45PM

'I believed that euthanasia was the only humane solution. I no longer believe that.'

• Ian Haines, MD

In 1969, when I was 15 years old, my adored 37-year-old single Auntie Nancy was diagnosed with very advanced, untreatable ovarian cancer. It was a dreadful time in our close extended family's life. She began to deteriorate quickly and to develop severe pain from the tumour masses in her abdomen. She asked to stay at home and to be allowed to die in peace surrounded by her loving family.
There were no visiting palliative care nursing teams then. There was no medical expertise in pain control. Doctors avoided using narcotics until the final hours for fear of addiction and that they would stop working if started too early. As my aunt began to deteriorate, an experienced private day nurse was engaged. My mother, in tandem with my other two aunts, would stay up every third night with my aunt, turning, toileting, massaging and comforting her. She was in agony and regularly cried out in pain. The doctor eventually prescribed a small dose of morphine to be strictly used every four hours. It had no effect.
My aunt slowly became emaciated and developed painful bed sores. The family increased their efforts. They would care for her till the end. Eventually, after months, she became so desperate that she pleaded to be killed. Please? Please? The visiting nurse, a courageous and compassionate woman, promised to help. She had a cache of unused morphine ampoules from previous patients for desperate situations. Unable to obtain appropriate orders from the doctor, she secretly gave them to my aunt. Finally she was freed of her suffering.
It took many years for my mother to tearfully tell me this very painful story. Her guilt, regret and sense of failure were profound. I was convinced that such mercy killing must be made more easily and widely available if it was true that no other treatment options existed.
But since then my views have changed. Thirteen years after my aunt died, I trained in the newly established speciality of medical oncology. I spent any spare time learning pain control and palliative care. I listened to the experts and to my patients.
I began to see newer emerging team-based palliative care treatment options for those like my aunt. Many more of our patients were now dying peacefully. I could see that euthanasia may not be the answer after all.
The advances in the skills, availability and knowledge in palliative care since those days have been phenomenal. The horror stories of doctors telling nurses to close the doors of the patients who were screaming out in pain were fast disappearing.
I have received many euthanasia requests from patients and families over my 34 years in full-time oncology practice, some very passionate, but I have invariably found that they quickly disappear as reassurance and adequate medication doses provide the comfort that is desired and the newly exposed opportunities for patients and families to share deep and poignant moments of bonding and reflection, or nurse a new-born grandchild, or attend a wedding or a graduation.
If a patient and their family needs help for a comfortable and peaceful death, doctors routinely increase the dose of medications, even if the patient dies sooner as a result. As long as the primary goal of this treatment is the relief of suffering and not to cause death, this is permitted.
This "law of double effect" is a legal grey area that allows doctors to provide optimal care short of primarily trying to kill the patient. Some would call it passive euthanasia. Perhaps it is. However, as a secular humanist, it is a subtle but huge difference that allows me to relieve suffering, to share some of the most profound human experiences possible and to sleep comfortably at night.
As an oncologist with 35 years' full-time experience, I have seen palliative care reach the point where the terminally ill can die with equal or more dignity than euthanasia will provide. It is now very effective and increasingly available for two of the three possible ways of dying, outside of sudden unexpected death, which are advanced cancer and chronic relapsing and remitting organ-specific disease such as heart or lung failure.
Palliative care is also available for people with chronic progressive cognitive diseases such as dementia. This is the fourth way of dying and perhaps the most feared of all.
Euthanasia is unlikely to become available for people in such circumstances because their condition prevents truly informed consent.
Only a fully informed detailed advanced care plan done before any decline, where one can prohibit life-saving interventions such as antibiotics and intravenous fluids if certain conditions are met, can easily and safely produce the smooth outcome that many would desire if combined with palliative care.
Like Andrew Denton and others who have observed unbearable suffering in loved ones and the terrible failures of modern medicine in the past, I had once believed that euthanasia was the only humane solution.
I no longer believe that.
The experiences of countless patients and families should be the inspiration for continuing to improve palliative care, for general introduction of advanced care plans and not for euthanasia with its openness to misuse.
If the Victorian government legalises assisted dying for people suffering from serious and incurable conditions, it will be the wrong choice. It is not necessary and, as outlined in the minority report to government, it will inevitably increase the pressure, both stated and perceived, for some chronically ill patients to move on and stop being a burden.
Ian Haines is a medical oncologist.

Evictions by Triump: passive aggressive torture

Donald terrorized his tenants during the ’80s.

The name ‘Trump’ has commonly been associated with luxury but tenants of the real estate mogul’s condos may say differently. Back in 1981 Trump purchased a large building right off of Central Park in order to convert it into a condo. The tenants of the building refused to move, as was their right, and so Donald orchestrated five years of passive aggressive torture. He would refuse to have leaks fixed, he never took care of pests, and even told a construction crew to work every day at 7AM. Trump would culminate in letting homeless people squat in the building to try and push out tenants. He was sued in court.

from DailySportX 31 October 2016

In memory of November 11.

I still can't believe what they did to Randy and me.  Those precious hours that I was prevented from being with Randy before he died.  Why.  I still want to know why. Randy wanted to see me so who made the decision that I could not see him. Who, a broken medical system that controls 50% of our economy.  Who are these people.


I could not even see Randy on the sidewalk away from the hospital for a few minutes because it was too much work for our gigantic expensive health system designed for patients to arrange as I was banned from accessing all VCH properties. The first time I met Nurse Ratchet in 2010 when Randy was transferred from VCH to GPC she came down on me dictating that if I wanted to visit Randy, I would have to sign a visitor's contract.  Where did that come from: a visitor's contract.  Later I learned this is common practise.

We speak of the fallen soldiers this day.  What about Randy who believed in justice and in country and in family.  What about him.  What about him being badly treated by denying him his rights by our own government (health care system). They are not suppose to be the enemy. We should not be afraid of them.

What about the mothers in Ontario who spoke on national television that they are afraid to talk after being abused by health professionals when giving birth because their children might need medical attention later on.  What about them.

When people are afraid to talk, then the medical system is the enemy.


I am off to the November 11 memorial service at Hastings and Cambie ... Victory Square.

You do not have to be a soldier to die for your country.  Randy also died for his country.

1:OO PM

I just returned from Victory Square. I was in disbelief, in awe, at what I saw. It was amazing. The square was overrun with people.  Last time I went to a November 11th event at Victoria Square, maybe twenty years ago, there was relatively no one there.  This time, people everywhere.  Children and doggies and friendship. It energized me and my resolve to continue.  It is a movement: a societal shift from love of self to love of country.   Religion and family are being weakened and redefined.  We have an inert need to belong with a purpose.

We were told to leave our $2.00 poppies at the memorial.  My question:  are these poppies recycled.  No one could tell me.  They should be.