I am remembering Dr. Jack Rowe, or Grandpa Jack as he was known in our family. By sharing our experience on cleveland.com, I wanted to start the conversation about a Death with Dignity law in Ohio. Our group is working toward that. Sign up on our website, OhioOptions.org to join us in our efforts.
Hi my name is Ali. I am writing this because, my aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal lung cancer. She was given 4-6 months to live. This diagnosis was a shock to my family and I. We are a very close family. The worst part about all of this is that my aunt is in her late 40’s. Her daughter (my cusion) is also at the young age of 15. Unfortunately, things are starting to decline for her. She’s been in a hospice facility for months now, due to fact that my older grandmother and grandfather could no longer risk picking her up or have her falling. Trying to visit a ill family member weekly while trying to maintain your life is a lot on anyone. I have never seen my family under so much stress. Death has never struck anyone in my immediate family. Long story short, my aunt is in her final days of life. Seeing her lay there struggling to breathe and gasping for every breath had to be one of the hardest things I have ever witnessed, and knowing there is nothing you can do to help. Yeah, she is getting pumped with morphine to keep her comfortable for pain but, it’s not a good quality of life. She is just basically waiting for her life to end. Due to her younger age, and the fact that she has a healthy heart this could prolonge the death process for her. I happen to be fimilar with The Death With Dignity Act because, I wrote a paper about the act for a Bio Ethics class. I am 100% for this act and what it stands for. Until you personally experience someone you love suffering it might be hard to agree with. I would love to see Ohio support this act or something similar! Thanks for listening to my story.