tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840867179601918652.post2751347900437348150..comments2024-01-08T01:16:37.067-07:00Comments on REVOLUTIONARY SPIRITS: Faith, Politics, Opinion: A Right To Die?Gary Kowalskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00832434470111324769noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840867179601918652.post-6651713247209283172012-03-09T13:33:06.706-07:002012-03-09T13:33:06.706-07:00Thank you Kit for sharing this extremely moving st...Thank you Kit for sharing this extremely moving story of how the Death With Dignity law has worked in practice.Gary Kowalskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00832434470111324769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8840867179601918652.post-41540989526403472062012-03-09T11:45:18.184-07:002012-03-09T11:45:18.184-07:00Gary, I am a Washington resident and minister of a...Gary, I am a Washington resident and minister of a small UU congregation here. Last fall, I accompanied a member of my congregation as he drank the potion that would end his life, a life which had been full and honorable but had come to the point at which painful and endless treatments would only prolong, not improve the quality of, his life.<br /><br />He and I and a few friends and family members gathered around his chair that morning, each had a chance to tell him what his life had meant to us, he said what he wanted to say, and then I used a variation of the child dedication ceremony we use to welcome children, to bless him.<br /><br />I touched his head with a white rose dipped in our water ceremony pooled water, saying "I touch your head in gratitude for your clear thinking"; his lips "in gratitude for your speaking of truth"; his heart "in gratitude for your great love"; his hands "in gratitude for your service to others".<br /><br />I then asked him if he was ready for the next step. He said he was and the nurse present helped him move to the bed nearby. She gave him the potion, telling him to drink it down quickly because he would soon feel very sleepy.<br /><br />He drank the potion, remarking that it didn't taste too bad (cherry flavor, he said). We sat and waited for a few moments; then the nurse asked him if he was feeling sleepy, to which he answered brightly, "No!" and then, almost immediately, his eyes closed and he was asleep.<br /><br />She laid him down in the bed, and we waited for several minutes as his breathing slowed and then ended. His heart quit beating a few minutes later and he was truly gone, peacefully and in the way he wanted to die, with his wife of 60+ years, his sister, his minister, and a nurse friend at his side.<br /><br />Washington's Death With Dignity law has provided him and others with the ability to end life in a humane and peaceful way. This was one of the most poignant and powerful moments of my ministry and I felt privileged to be invited to witness his last hour. He was very dear to me.<br /><br />Kit KetchamLilylouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02328027965155428624noreply@blogger.com