Dying with dignity bill

As the mother of wonderful daughter with a serious illness that can be & has been life threatening but thankfully isn't at present

And a palliative care doctor

Let's demystify what dying is like for people who sadly have advanced progressive life 1/n

illnesses

For the vast majority, they become progressively weaker over time

As things change, the person is likely to get to a stage of needing more help, may need help to sit or stand

At a late stage, the person needs to stay in bed most or all of the time

Tiredness 2/n

.. increases

People can but not always get pain but there are a lot of pain control options

A time comes when the person sleeps almost all the time

Then the person usually becomes unconscious 3/n

.... Most people with advanced progressive illnesses are unconscious as they die

But all the time beforehand & this time matters

It matters for the person who is dying & also for his / her/ others' loved ones .... 4/n

New recent early research suggest that even at the unconscious stage, people who are imminently dying may hear

Research & people show us that as serious life-limiting illnesses progress, their quality of life increases. Yes that's increases, improves. People re-evaluate as 5/n

.... what tends to matter is family, friends, health

In the time beforehand a lot of love, closeness & depth of meaning can happen for many

Supports needed to help people live as well as possible

Assisted living not assisted dying / suicide, not euthanasia
x