Last Wednesday (March 7) it came to my attention that there
is a heated debate in my area regarding the provision of Medical Assistance in
Dying (MAiD) within a hospice/palliative care setting. My local newspaper posted this article.
In response to this article I have written the following
letter to our local Hospice Society (and subsequently also to the Hospice
itself which is run independently) which I also submitted to my local paper as
an open letter to the editor. It is my
hopes that it will be printed in tomorrow’s publication. I share it with you all here. I welcome you to share it with whomever you
desire.
In writing this letter I have uncovered that it is the Fraser
Health Authority which is in the process of mandating ALL Fraser Health facilities,
inclusive of palliative care, offer MAiD (another article about what's going on here).
This alarms and concerns me.
Things move slowly in my life, but my next step is to write a similar
letter directed towards Fraser Health.
Furthermore, the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians is
advocating for exclusion of MAiD from Palliative facilities and provides
assistance to Canadians in advocacy and advice.
As such, I plan to enlist their help.
Thank you for taking time to read my concerns.
Dear Sue,
I write in response to the recent article in The Chilliwack
Progress informing Chilliwack
This matter is of utmost concern to me as I am a Chilliwack
I firmly believe that the vulnerable process of dying
naturally is beautiful and allows a special bond of love to flow between the
person breathing their last breaths and the loved one bearing witness to
it. This is a beneficial and shaping
experience and is what I desire for my own death. I make this decision with my personal
experience of encountering the beauty and value of being present in the tender
moments of my grandmothers’ last days.
As I see my own death
approaching I’ve already begun to experience the beauty and vulnerability of
dying. Until recently I was a pharmacist
and a depended upon health care provider in our community. I am now the patient trusting my health care
team. Additionally, as a mother I was
accustomed to caring for my 3 young children.
Now I am the fragile, dependent, and needy one. I’ve had to ask for and accept a great deal
of help. Yet in receiving this help I’ve
gained much more than the practical support I’ve needed. These beautiful acts of humanity have been
life-giving gifts for both the givers and myself.
At the same time, my diagnosis is precipitating raw and
vulnerable conversations. While
rewarding these are difficult waters to tread.
This journey requires courage; in my frailty I rest on the shoulders of
those supporting me to garner this courage.
Meaningful and safe relationships are of utmost importance. I need to know that those supporting me are
fully invested so I can lay bare my aches, disappointments, heart, and hopes to
continue on this courageous journey. I
need to ensure that my care will continually foster this unguarded
openness. This is a vulnerable state
requiring utmost trust in those I surround myself with. I am exposed.
Because I am exposed I need to ensure that my circle of trust is not
broken. As palliative care physician Dr.
L. Herx states, “The foundations
of our work in palliative care are trust and relationship.” She continues, “Is
trust really engendered when we reach out with one hand inviting patients to
engage in the hard and intense work of addressing their suffering, while in the
other hand we hold the needle to end life?” 1 To ensure vital trust
is protected at such a vulnerable time in life it is important to clearly
segregate palliative and hospice care from any provision of MAiD.
Furthermore, I long for my care to be focused on living well
while at the same time be fully committed to the arduous process of dying. Indeed, the World Health Organization defines
palliative care as affirming life and intending to neither hasten or post-pone
death2. I believe the Hospice
Society has championed this definition by supporting the palliative patient
through providing holistic care and comfort as a patient lives their
last days. I am tremendously grateful a
compassionate local environment like this exists where independence, as much as
possible, is valued. This will enable me
to live as fully as possible, while I’m alive. To provide MAiD in this setting
would be utterly off-focus and contrary to the purpose of a hospice and
palliative care. I plan to LIVE until I
succumb to my disease. This is an
entirely different mind-set than choosing to die prematurely. These 2 mind-sets cannot co-exist, certainly
not housed under the same roof. As Lincoln
To continue providing this city, including myself, my
husband and my 3 young children, with vital and life-bolstering care I
sincerely urge the Chilliwack Hospice Society to safe-guard an environment of
vulnerability, openness and whole-hearted support by NOT supporting MAiD
within your programs and services.
Best Regards,
Cheryl Rostek
Citations:
- Herx, L. (2015) Physician Assisted Death is not Palliative Care. Current Oncology, 22(2) doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2631.
- World Health Organization Definition of Palliative Care. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en.
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