Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

2014 • 282 pages

Ratings116

Average rating4.5

15

I started reading Being Mortal nearly a year ago and somehow never got around to finishing it. It's admittedly a difficult read in the sense that it can be overwhelming at times. I finally finished it last night.

The premise focuses on the quality of life rather than the length of life and more specifically, the manner in which you choose to pass away. Medical science has advanced to such a degree that humans can be kept alive for a much longer time than you would imagine. But no one has stopped to ask the question of whether we should. Or as in Amitabh's immortal (no pun intended) words, yeh jeena bhi koi jeena hai. Gawande cites several examples from his professional and personal life that focuses on the individual's choice on care and ultimately, way to die. The Republicans' favorite chant ‘death panels' actually referred to the end of life counseling that doctors offered their patients. It's the ultimate decision you can take for your life.

You do not choose to be born in this world and as of today, most laws even prevent you from actively choosing to die but at least you can choose the way you die when and only when you're diagnosed to. The DNR is the most commonly known legal process in our pop culture and medical professionals are taught to honor it just as they're taught to honor the first do no harm principle. Others like hospice care are fraught with emotions that you may not be fighting back hard enough. But after a while, it's useless fighting nature.

Being Mortal will not only make you aware of your mortality but actually prepare you for it. I say that in the most humble and optimistic way. You aren't immortal. You're going to die. You're born in perhaps one or two ways but you can die in umpteen different and uncharacteristic ways. The worst I believe, waiting to die which can be a long and painful process not only for the person but also for their loved ones. Modern medicine can perhaps keep you alive for as long as it is possible today but it's entirely within your rights and choice to decide when enough is enough.

December 11, 2017