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妻のパーキンソン病との闘いと、その介護の日々の生活の記録

20240326tue 尊厳死について思うこと

一人一人の人間の存在を尊いものとして尊重するという尊厳について、人それぞれの考え方があると思う。
非常にセンシティブな内容でもあるので、
私の思いを以下に横文字で記した。


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Thoughts on death with dignity(About my future death with dignity)


I believe that each person has his or her own view on the dignity of respecting each person's existence as precious.
It's also very sensitive, 
 so I've written my thoughts in English below.


Through caring for my wife for about 10 years now, 
 I have been forced to think a lot about human dignity.
My wife was a stout woman, strong-willed and did not want to be seen in a disgraceful way since she was in good health.
Since my wife was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about 10 years ago, 
 she has been suffering from regular involuntary movements (tremors) of unknown cause that have gradually intensified. 
She has also suffered from hallucinations (and visual hallucinations) since she developed Lewy body dementia, which is said to be common among Parkinson's patients.


My wife's sense of balance gradually deteriorated, 
 but she had been trying hard to overcome her disease without stopping at the gym she had attended for more than 20 years due to her inherent strength of spirit.
However, after her Care Need Level increased, 
 she became frustrated and began receiving day care services and other nursing care services.


After that, the progress of her disease quickened, and in a short period of time, 
 she went from Care Need Level 1 to Care Need Level 5. 
 It was too early.
I have watched the whole suffering of her disease while caring for her.
Now, her dementia has progressed, 
 and she can no longer recognize me or my daughter at all.


If she had known that she would be like this when she was in good health, 
 she might have declared death with dignity or euthanasia and made a will before that happened.
Previously, she told me not to do life-sustaining treatment, 
 and I also told her not to do so to me.
At that time, we were both healthy and energetic, 
 and if we were over 80 years old, 
 we used to think that we would "pass away to the other world in PINPIN KORORI”.
However, I could never have imagined that my wife would suffer from an incurable disease so soon.


And now my wife is in a facility, 
 but many of the other residents are just like her, 
 and I feel as if I am being shown the end of humanity.
Over the past year, I have come to conclusively know the state of the facility.
I have come to understand how hard it is for all the staff at the facility, 
 so I don't think people with only an earful can realize how hard the job of caring for each resident until the end of his or her life is.


Sometimes unfortunate things happen in the abuse news, 
 but I can only imagine the factors that led to that situation, 
 so I can't completely criticize the caregivers who led to that situation.
In the field of caregiving, 
 misfortunes such as abuse would not have happened if self-control had always been in place, but such misfortunes are more likely to occur when self-control is lost for a certain reason.


I will eventually receive care as I age, 
 but I want to choose death with dignity before I become seriously ill, 
 that is, while I am able to respect and recognize the value of human life and personality.


At the very least, if I were in the terminal stage of an incurable disease, 
 I would, based on my own will, refuse from the start any life-prolonging measures that would merely prolong my death and choose to accept the natural course of my life. (Because euthanasia is not allowed.)


Even so, I never thought my wife's personality would be torn to shreds so quickly.... 
 It is very cruel.