I just learned that the Illinois legislature passed a bill authorizing Physician Orders on Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) (ILH 3134) which was signed by the Governor last week. We haven’t addressed POLST on the NDY blog yet, but it’s a primary focus of legislative activism on the part of the so-called “end-of-life” coalitions that formed during … Continue reading Not Getting on the POLST Bandwagon
The Smart Ass Cripple Blog is written by friend, disability activist, humorist, playwright, and essayist Mike Ervin. (and I might have left a couple items off the list of hats he wears – and most of those hats are garishly colored – several hold one or more beers with straws.) Mike Ervin’s name is probably … Continue reading Smart Ass Cripple (blog): It’s All Over But the Bingo (Satire)
This past week, news sources in Europe and the US have been telling the story of Richard Rudd, who was left with spinal cord injuries and in an apparent coma after a motorcycle accident. As medical staff and family prepared to disconnect Mr. Rudd’s ventilator, a final examination by one of his physicians held open … Continue reading Richard Rudd – Saved by a Blink
Today, the New York Times published a long story on hospice and palliative care, and how doctors struggle with balancing the transition from active treatment to palliative care in the final stages of terminal illnesses. Some of it is worked within the context of the current “debate” around advance directives in the health care reform … Continue reading NY Times Quotes Diane Coleman – but without context
As readers of this blog might remember, last May I was confronted by a representative of Lyndon LaRouche’s organization at an anti-euthanasia conference. I felt compelled to address his rather shrill attack on what he termed Obama’s “Hitler Health Care” from the podium and followed up the next day. Since then, it seems a lot … Continue reading Health Care Reform Hysteria – and My Own Version of Reality
