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Comment by danburgo | Hacker News Reader

These words hit close to home. My dad just passed away from cancer/diabetes in Florida and had to endure the "barbaric torture of decay and failure". Basically 4 months suffering in bed until he eventually denied eating anything and his liver failed. I asked the nurses repeatedly if there was anything to help him go or pass and there was nothing. Something's got to change in the US, we treat animals better than humans at the end of life

Thank you for your words

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Same situation in Italy. Unfortunately. Anyone wanting a be euthanised has to travel Switzerland, which is not always feasible at end-of-life (also considering that the whole procedure costs ~20k$).

I spent my civil service as an EMT and only once I saw a doctor giving the daughter of a terminally ill woman a piece of advice I will never forget (this woman was in such bad conditions, she simply wasn't there anymore and spent 100% of her time with morphin-induced allucinations): after giving her the morphin prescription he told her that "nobody is going to go behind you if you give her an overdose" - implying that she could end her suffering but she had to be the one killing her.

It was by far one of the hardest moment of my life, and I was just a passive witness. It was just brutal.

One thing I've heard of is people "leaving the bottle open" next to the bed. That way the ill person can "accidentally" decide for themselves.

I've heard similar. Also with family members being taught how to use the morphine IV dripper, and what a fatal dose looks like.

The alternative is for patients to refuse food and water until they die.

I'd been thinking about this a lot because my father was diagnosed with a terminal illness 3+ years ago. We'd discussed euthanasia, and he definitely didn't want to spend his final 6-12 months suffering.

Because he didn't die, the docs took another look and realised he'd been misdiagnosed (and yes, we got 2nd & 3rd opinions after the initial diagnosis).

Insane. In your case, I'm glad your dad was misdiagnosed for the good. I can't imagine how this misdiagnose impacted your life and your family during the last few years.

I'm sorry you had to experience that. Some states do allow euthanasia, it's not a federal ban. Unfortunately by the time you know you need it, mobility is often difficult. I'm still young and I desperately hope something changes before I have to answer this question myself. If not, I may move to a better state if I'm lucky enough for the decline to be slow. Meanwhile I'm frightened for my family and loved ones.

Yes, I don't think people understand that the last step of a slow death is starvation until the person stops breathing, at which point, you must fight the urge to revive them. It's brutal. I just watched it happen before my very eyes this week. I will never forget it.

> Something's got to change in the US

Oregon was the first place in the world to legalize euthanasia.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

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