Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death
Katy Butler
2013, 322 pages
Nonfiction
Katy Butler recounts the story of her father’s devastating stroke at 79 and the subsequent implantation of a pacemaker through his steady physical decline over the next six years to the point where his body was worn out, but his heart kept ticking thanks to that pacemaker which could last another five years. She tells of the physical toll his caregiving took on her mother, as well as the difficulties of dealing with everything (doctors, tests, therapists, rehab, aides) within the constraints and economics of the current medical system. She provides a lot of background information on the technological advances that have gotten us to the point where doctors keep trying to repair our bodies, with little concern for the fact that our bodies do wear out as we reach the point when it is time to die. She then recounts how this seven-year experience influenced her mother at 84 to refuse open heart surgery and meet death head on. She also talks about the concept of Slow Medicine which advocates for care over cure. This is a very personal story of one family dealing with parental decline and death which should provide food for thought for those of us dealing with elderly parents or our own aging process.
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