Alzheimer's Caregiving: Home Safety

It is extremely important that a caregiver for an Alzheimer's patient recognize dangers in the home and make necessary adjustments. Everyday Health

Why preserve a life with no meaning?

Linda and I were/are both religious people. We took God and the sanctity of life really seriously. We are part of a religious tradition that is strict about the sanctity of life but also compassionate. It never occurred to either of us that what Linda wanted was wrong, unethical or irreligious. What kind of God would want life to be prolonged beyond the point of endurance and meaning? Times Online

Editor: This begs the question about what is a meaningful life? He goes on to say, "to hasten death when life is not life is an act of compassion," but doesn't explain how life can not be life.

Caregiving and Medical Emergencies

Caregiving for someone who is seriously or chronically ill is a daunting task, and an emergency can be frightening. Taking steps in advance will help you handle a crisis, should one occur. Care Pages

Faith, Religion, and Spirituality When Someone Is Ill

Discussing religion or spirituality with someone who is seriously ill can be tricky. You have to first make sure they are open to the topic. Care Pages

Active Listening: A Skill for Life

Learn how to become an “active listener.” When someone you care for is in crisis, your listening skills can make a big difference. Care Pages

Get to Know: The Well Spouse Association

The Well Spouse Association advocates for and addresses the needs of individuals caring for a chronically ill and/or disabled spouse/partner. We offer peer to peer support and educate health care professionals and the general public about the special challenges and unique issues "well" spouses face every day.

What’s “Normal” When It Comes to Mourning?

We each experience the loss of a loved one differently. Learn the depth of mourning and when you should consider seeking help to deal with your grief. Care Pages

The Invisible Spousal Caregiver

Research has shown that of all family caregivers, the husband, wife or partner of a person with chronic illness or disability takes the longest to recognize that he/she is a family, or in this case, a spousal caregiver. Furthermore, men take longer than women to see that they have, usually unwittingly, signed on for this special role. That is one aspect of the “invisible” spousal caregiver. Moreover, if they can’t see themselves as being in that role, how can they also see that there is a need for support and respite for spousal caregivers? Care Pages

Christmas in August: a healing gift of love and hope

The other day when I found a letter in my bureau drawer that my friend, Nicole, sent to me a few Christmases ago. She did not actually write the eloquent letter of love and wise exhortations – Fra Giovanni Giocando did, in 1513 A.D. But Nicole keyed it into her computer, printed it out and penned at the top, in green ink, “For Lori,” and at the bottom, “Love, Nicole.” The words moved me so much that I want to share them with you. Consider it a gift of Christmas in [August]. Care Pages

Does availability of euthanasia hinder palliative care?

End of life decisions that shorten life, including euthanasia or physician assisted suicide, are not related to a lower use of palliative care in Belgium and often occur within the context of multidisciplinary care. BMJ, response

More palliative care, not assisted suicide

The Northampton-based Motor Neurone Disease Association has called on the Government to invest in palliative care after a landmark Law Lords ruling on Debbie Purdy. Northampton Chronicle

‘Changing law on assisted suicides has real dangers’

Retired minister and multiple sclerosis sufferer Campbell Wilson is convinced there should be no change in the assisted suicide laws despite the landmark victory by fellow MS patient Debbie Purdy from Bradford. Belfast Telegraph

The Dignitas experience: 'It was all a bit scruffy, but it didn't seem to matter'

Then we went off to the famous flat in Zurich, which was an ordinary modern block. It was a very nondescript looking place. Some chap who worked for Dignitas introduced himself. They're continually asking the whole time if you want to go through with it, saying it's fine if you want to pull out, even right to the end, when they're mixing up the poison. But no, she was absolutely determined to do it. It wasn't soft lights and soft music, it was all a bit scruffy in a way, but it didn't seem to matter. I can't remember quite what we said to each other in those last minutes, something like, 'Good luck, have a good trip,' or, 'Thank you for the happy times we've had.' Guardian

Assisted suicide: what is the law?

Debbie Purdy has won a landmark court battle campaigners fear could lead to more people ending their lives in foreign "suicide clinics." But what does British law currently say? Telegraph

Proclaiming the Gospel by Caring for Our Elderly

As Tertullian wrote roughly 1,800 years ago, “it is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ” What better opportunity to demonstrate how this new life in Christ has transformed us—reorienting our priorities away from self to others—than by how we care for the aging within the community of God’s people? In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he stresses this responsibility toward the elderly and widows in particular. Such care is not merely a nice option if it’s convenient or affordable but a serious and universal command. Center for Christ & Culture

Dying with Dignitas is starting to look grubby

Some called their end romantic, but a nurse from the Swiss “suicide clinic” where Sir Edward Downes and his wife Joan ended their lives together with a glass of poison has warned Britons not to be fooled into following their example. “There is nothing dignified or uplifting about it,” says Soraya Wernli, a former employee of Dignitas, the Swiss organisation that assists those who choose to end their lives. The word “clinic,” she says, is an exalted epithet for “just one person who has found a way to make a lot of money out of death and the fear of it.” Times Online

Son faces jail for giving gun to suicidal father

A son who gave his terminally ill father a gun which the elder man used to kill himself while in hospital, is today pleaded guilty to firearms offences today after escaping prosecution for assisted suicide. Guy Button awaits sentencing after terminally ill parent kills himself with handgun and bullets smuggled into hospital. Guardian

Scotland to consider legalising assisted suicide

A bill to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland is expected to be brought before the Scottish parliament this autumn. People with a progressive and irreversible illness, the terminally ill, or those who had an "intolerable" quality of life, could get a doctor's help to kill themselves under the proposed law. Guardian

Withdrawing Nutrition from Children Ethical Within Limits

Nutritional support can ethically be withdrawn or withheld from certain children with terminal illnesses or with severe, irreversible disabilities, the American Academy of Pediatrics has determined. Withdrawing Nutrition from Children Ethical Within Limits

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Landmark ruling in right-to-die case

The Law Lords unanimously backed Debbie Purdy's call for a policy statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the circumstances in which a person such as her husband, Cuban violinist Omar Puente, might face prosecution for helping a loved one end their life abroad. Wheelchair-bound Ms Purdy, who left the House of Lords to the cheers of her supporters, said the decision “gives me my life back.” With her husband next to her, she said: “We can now live our lives. We don’t have to plan my death.” Landmark ruling in right-to-die case - Press & Journal

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Diagnosing comas: Unlucky for some

A newly published study suggests that a lot of people who have been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state are not in one. Diagnosing comas: Unlucky for some The Economist

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Suicide law campaigner Debbie Purdy hopes for crucial law lords ruling

Debbie Purdy is expected to secure the backing of the highest court in the land today with an historic final ruling on her plea for clarity in the law on assisted suicide. Legal experts believe that the law lords will back Ms Purdy, 46, who who has multiple sclerosis, in her request for a declaration by the Director of Public Prosecutions on his policy for bringing prosecutions in such cases. Such a ruling would give hope to thousands of people who, like Ms Purdy, may want to know in what circumstances prosecutions would be brought against those who helped relatives to die. Times Online

Call for pillows

Evan Koons is competing in ArtPrize, the largest art competition in the world—happening in Grand Rapids, MI. Inspired by the story of a hospice volunteer and a woman with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Evan is attempting to create the world’s first—and largest—art installation made completely from donated pillows. To accomplish this feat, he’s hoping to collect at least 7000 pillows by September 22. His goal is to raise awareness for hospice care, Hospice of Michigan, and every individual’s right to live and die with dignity.

If you have one or more pillows for him to pick up, you can email him at to set up a time. You can drop off any type of pillow at one of the following locations:

Hospice of Michigan – Grand Rapids
989 Spaulding SE
Ada, MI 49301

Compass Film Academy
560 5th St. NW, Ste 110
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

National Storage
1236 Ball Ave
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Evan also encourages anyone donating a pillow to decorate it. Feel free to write, color, or stitch a message, name, or picture onto the pillow in memoriam of your loved one. The possibilities are endless.

To follow Evan’s progress and receive further information, you can visit his website at www.amassingthemountain.com. You can also join the Facebook group “Amassing the Mountain.” As the competition draws near (September 23–October 10), Evan will also need help on-site.

To Those Who Are Hurting and Confused

What is more universal to human experience than suffering? And what is more important than the perspective we bring to it? Eternal Perspectives, page 1

"Dad, I know where I am"

A young girl’s life and death inspire her family to share the hope of Heaven. Eternal Perspectives, (page 5)

Canadian doctors aim to revise law on euthanasia

Canada's continuing debate on the right to die, prodded by court cases and proposed legislation, seems to be heading for a new round this fall according to a report the Quebec College of Physicians may recommend Canada's Criminal Code be revised to permit a form of medical euthanasia in strictly controlled circumstances. A right-to-die private member's bill sponsored by Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde is also due for debate, leaving both sides of the contentious issue gearing for a busy fall. Canada.com

Deadly doctors

The health bills coming out of Congress would put the decisions about your care in the hands of presidential appointees. They'd decide what plans cover, how much leeway your doctor will have and what seniors get under Medicare. Yet at least two of President Obama's top health advisers should never be trusted with that power. NY Post

Comatose man's feeding tube won’t be removed

A comatose Chemung County (NY) man at the center of a legal battle over his medical condition will not have his feeding tube removed. A request by the Chemung County Attorney’s Office to remove Gary Harvey’s total-parenteral-nutrition tube was formally dismissed Monday. Online Leader

New ad from FRC Action

Family Research Council unveiled a new TV ad which will initially run in five key states including Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana, and Nebraska. The hard hitting ad lays out two key threats should President Obama's plan become reality - rationing and taxpayer funded abortions. Patients, particularly the elderly, will face denial of vital treatments while at the same time be forced to pay for abortions.

Health Care Reform and the Elderly

Besides the many concerns about taxpayer funded abortion, violation of conscience of health care providers and other abortion related issues with the health care reform bills, there are also grave concerns about end of life care.

Under section 1233, pages 425-430 mandate Advanced Care Planning Consultations for senior citizens. The government will instruct and consult regarding advanced directives, living wills and durable powers of attorney and provide a list of end of life resources that will guide you in how to shorten your life. The mandated consultation must take place every five years or sooner if a patient's health changes. So if you are diagnosed with a chronic condition or admitted to a care facility you will have to go through another end of life consultation. Pages 427 and 428, specifies training for care professionals that would be responsible for signing orders for life-sustaining treatments, nutrition and hydration, about the goals and use of those orders. On page 429 the bill states the government will specify which doctors can write an end of life order and will mandate programs for end of life orders. They will have a say in how much care you receive or do not receive.

House Minority Leader John Boehner and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter state "that section of the bill may place seniors in situations where they feel pressured to sign end of life directives they would not otherwise sign. This provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia if enacted into law. At a minimum this legislative language deserves a full and open public debate - the sort of debate that is impossible to have under the politically-driven deadlines Democratic leaders have arbitrarily set for enactment of a health care bill."

Please contact your Representative and Senators and let them know how you feel about the health care reform bills!Sources tell us the vote in the House may be as early as next week! We are unsure when the Senate will actually vote. Click here to contact your Representative and here for your Senators. Human Life Alliance