If You're Aging, You've Probably Wondered About This

Last night I watched a moving documentary I came across on Netflix called, "How To Die in Oregon."  (Are people bailing from this post right and left?  Don't blame you. )

I'd noticed it for a few days among the offerings and thought, oh, hell, why would I want to watch THAT?  I want entertainment!

But during those two weeks of vacation in Inverness, I'd gotten respite from the demands of the to-do list and the clutter of life and traffic (don't get me started), and I felt less like indulging in escape and eager to grapple with something more meaty.

This is a wonderful documentary.  Not easy to watch, but oddly reassuring.

Since 1997,  Oregon residents can choose to use doctor-prescribed medications to end their lives.  The film follows a few patients as they buy the drugs at a pharmacy and eventually use them.  Most have terminal cancer; one has ALS. They all seem sane, thoughtful, and very grateful for life and for the option of a peaceful, pain-free death.  None made an impulsive decision.  All had endured bad days so they could claim the few good ones, until there were no good ones left for them.

This is how it worked:

A volunteer with an organization called "Compassion and Choices" emptied the powder of Seconal capsules into a glass, mixed the powder with water, and handed them to the patient, who could back out at any time.  Their families were with them and supported them.  Drinking the liquid took about a minute.  The patient had time to speak and soon drifted into a coma..

Both patients who agreed to be filmed or audiotaped as they accepted the glass and drank the contents, said, after they swallowed the drug and began to feel sleepy, "It's so easy!"   And "thank you!"  

One, Cody Curtis, a 54-year old woman whom we watch as she struggles with liver cancer, is so dignified, gracious, and articulate, that I felt like weeping right along with her family as she slipped away.  She embraced every day she had, wrung every enjoyment she could find, until the very end.

Cody Curtis

Curtis with her family, who was with her when she died

Only three states--Vermont, Oregon, and Washington--permit assisted death, and in Oregon, the closest to California, you have to be a resident of the state, which requires a year of living there.  Oh, please, let everyone have this choice.

After that, readers--if there are any left--I went to bed and slept easily.  If Jerry were here (he's off counting butterflies), he'd think I was nuts, but I was really glad I'd watched this.