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  1. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    a fatal disease and euthanasia

    Discussion in 'Research' started by alpacinoutd, Nov 11, 2020.

    Hello.

    I'm writing a short. In it, a conversation takes place between a patient and a doctor at the hospital. What is a fatal disease that I can give to the character? I mean she is suffering from a painful disease and she knows she will die soon. I want it to be something which is kind of scary what it does to body and I also want to describe that in detail. The doctor knows death is inevitable and is thinking about helping the patient with euthanasia.
    They have a conversation about the meaning of life and death as they ponder whether or not euthanasia is a wise choice.

    The patient also has difficulty speaking. How can I express that? Can I say she "mumbles"?
     
  2. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    Cancer.
     
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  3. Malum

    Malum Offline

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    Do you have any experience with such ordeals in friends/family? It's better to write from a place of empathy and reality, especially where such matters are concerned I'd like to think.
     
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  4. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    MS. It's a terrible, degenerative thing. I've seen it degrade family members. It's one where euthanasia is requested often.
     
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  5. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    I see. Sorry about your relatives.

    How long do MS patients stay in hospital? Is it possible for an MS patient to be bedridden in a hospital for a few months and after that speak with her doctor and ask for mercy killing?
    What kind of pain do they suffer from?

    I want to write about a disease which makes the patient bedridden and is painful so that the conversation between the patient and doctor could take place.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2020
  6. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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  7. DriedPen

    DriedPen Member

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    Yes...this...MS.

    And EFMingo, for what it is worth, I am sorry for your losses and experiences! My heart goes out to you.
     
  8. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    I'm not sure yet.

    I want to write about a disease which makes the patient bedridden and is painful so that the conversation about mercy killing between the patient and doctor could take place. Does MS have these characteristics?

    Also, how are the painkillers applied? Are they injected in the IV bottle?
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2020
  9. Accelerator231

    Accelerator231 Contributor Contributor

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    How about Alzheimers? Incurable, slow, destroys your mind, you can feel 'yoursef' slipping away.
     
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  10. DriedPen

    DriedPen Member

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    MS would be that, but so would many others. It really depends on how memorable you want your story to be. If the main part of the story is having the disease, I would do some research and find some oddball disease that has the characteristics that you want, just so the reader gains information, insight and knowledge into a little known rare disease.

    But if you just want to gloss over the disease, make it something like cancer or MS so you do not have to explain it is much.

    As for pain, people tolerate pain differently. Myself, I have an incredibly high threshold for pain, as does my wife. She gave birth with kidney stones and did not die, whereas another wife during child birth thought the end of the world had come at only 10% giving-birth intensity.

    Morphine is the highest pain killer I know of, given a lot just before death, and is in the form of a IV drip. Most are because the stomach does not tolerate high doses of painkiller well.
     
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  11. More

    More Active Member

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    I can't form a good opinion of stories I have not read , so ignoring the opinions I do have will be justified . However , most good stories start with a problem and it's resolution is a satisfying ending . There are loads of good stories that don't fit into this structure, but If your opening a story that also flags up the only possible ending, I personally would not bother to read it.
     
  12. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Thanks. So, for an MS patient, the morphine is injected in the IV drip like this?

    https://icdn8.digitaltrends.com/image/doctor-in-hospital-at-iv-drip-720x720.jpg

    Is this correct?

    The doctor could see the suffering and anguish in her face. He injected morphine into her iv drip.

     
  13. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Does anyone know the daily of routine of an MS or cancer patient? I mean how many times per day are they visited by a doctor and what drugs are they given and when (how many times a day) and how are the drugs administered?

    I know it varies case by case, but I could use some general knowledge about this.
     
  14. Accelerator231

    Accelerator231 Contributor Contributor

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    This is so incredibly varied based on everything.

    But fine.

    Obviously plenty of bed rest. Physical therapy, you know the works. Try and keep them comfortable. Food. Maybe some changed diet due to dealing with chemotherapy.
     
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  15. hankas

    hankas New Member

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    Some people end their lives not only because of what the disease does to their bodies but also because of what their sickness does to people around them. I had a friend whose wife got cancer. He went everywhere and tried everything to cure his wife. He abandoned his law practice work for over two years in order to care for his wife. He took his wife to various countries and tried all kinds of medical treatments from conventional ones to alternative medicines. In the end, his wife just gave up. She refused to take any more medicine and she refused further treatments. She just couldn't bear seeing how much of a burden she was to her husband and children. She begged them to let her go. Her husband was devastated. Without treatment, her condition deteriorated fast and she was gone. Her husband followed her in about a year.

    So in addition to the disease's technicality, maybe you can write more about the patient's mental burden.
     
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  16. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Do you know how morphine is administered for an MS patient? And when and how many times per day?
    Can an MS patients speak clearly with their doctor and ask for mercy killing?
     
  17. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    That is a sad story.:superfrown:

    Such diseases can really undermine a person's confidence in the value of life. Actually, I'm not focused on the biological or technical aspect of the disease.

    The thing is, the doctor and the patient engage in a conversation about mercy killing. It could be boring if they just talk and talk. I need some action in the middle of the dialogue. And for action I though I'd write something like this: The doctor checked her iv drip and injected more morphine.

    Do you have any ideas about what other action could take place in the middle of such a conversation?

     
  18. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    be aware that mercy killing is illegal in most countries (Not switzerland) so its not something a doctor would do in most cases nor would it be something they'd discuss. With cancer (and some other diseases) the patient can elect to refuse treatment and just recieve palliative care until the disease kills them but a doctor would not administer an overdose of morphine since they'd quickly be caught., lose their licence and probably go to prison
     
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  19. Mark Burton

    Mark Burton Fried Egghead Contributor

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    Motor Neurons Disease. My father in law died of this. It's arguably worse than alzheimers because your mind is perfectly intact, but it is completely cut off from your body. You're fully aware of everything going on around you but are eventually completely paralysed, sometimes for many years. Some patients lose the ability to breathe as well and are hooked up to ventilators for the rest of their days.
     
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  20. alpacinoutd

    alpacinoutd Senior Member

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    Can the patient talk?
    Other than paralysis, do they suffer in terms of physical pain? Do they whimper in pain?

     
  21. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    You know, there are lots of resources on the internet that you could use to research these diseases, their progress and treatment. A start would be to Google them, rather than asking questions here, one-by-one.
     
  22. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Asking someone who's father has died of MND, if MND patients whimper in pain is deeply insensitive and disrepectful.... and has led to the closure of this thread :closed:

    As Naomasa suggests do some research - you can start here https://www.mndnsw.asn.au/about-mnd/what-is-mnd.html but if you speak to sufferers or their families try to have some sensitivity and dignity about what you ask
     
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