Does everyone die in the same way? Are there any differences? Does it even make a difference to you? Robert Kastenbaum explores the Transition from Life in Chapter 4 with Dying. It starts with the actual moment of death. This makes you think about the specific act of dying. For example, older people sometimes just slip away due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementias that accompany some people in their last phase of life. Sedation can reduce awareness and responses from a patient appear impaired or not there at all. These are just a few ideas to think about when someone is dying.
Trajectories are forms of the dying process; I now know that there are many trajectories to consider. While reading this text, I found it necessary to reread some of the explanations since I started to place myself in the situation. I read it the first time to understand the material. Then, I read it again placing myself or someone in my family in that particular circumstance. Doing this gave me a real feeling for what it may be like when I die. I cried too. I never thought of myself to be sensitive enough to feel so much emotion just by reading a textbook. I know it sounds weird, but it is true.
Looking at dying from the point when a physician communicates that information to you, when someone in your family is going to die, it is quite an eye–opening experience. Within the last two years, I have had nine family members pass away. Some of them were older, distant relatives from my step–father’s side of the family. Therefore, I was not at the hospital with them when they died. However, many stories about the experience with the physicians have surfaced. The chart on page 118 in Chapter 4, “Breaking the Bad News”: Physician–Patient Communication, reminded me of some of the same scenes that played out with my relatives during their final stage of life. It is hard for me to picture the doctor just telling the patient some bad news, and then moving directly on to the next order of business. A person that is dying is not just a matter of business to their family. A much better approach to this situation would be for the doctor to establish some type of relationship with the patient and or family first. This does not have to take a very long time; however, it would make a big difference in the presentation of bad news.
Once again, I feel as though I have gained more perspective about death. It has been very interesting to read much of this information soon after nine deaths have occurred in my family.