Death.
After it, is there anything? Is there no meaning to life?
We only live to be compost for the soil. We get sucked into a void where nothingness exists. No feelings. No thought. No taste. No smell. Darkness. Complete annihilation from this world. Gone.
Through my block at Paarl hospital, the thought of death did not stop lingering my thought.
Patient after patient, I see patients disappear the next day just to read on the document, deceased. I see the doctors and nurses carrying on with their work as nothing has happened, as if it was normal. Yes, I understand they need to carry on. Yes, I understand that these unfortunate circumstances occur and yes I understand that we as professionals that need to move on(Philip,2017) but… to die in a hospital alone, without somebody to be there for you and to exist as if you were just an illusion. How dreadful must it be for the patient? Imagine your own death to be meaningless. No love, no support and no hope. Then comes nothing else.
How bleak does it feel to think of death as the “finale”. Yes, death comes to everyone. It is the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion to life on Earth. Nobody can escape death, but to think after death comes nothing leaves us devoid of hope. People say that death is an eternal slumber or rest but I disagree. Using a euphemism for death doesn’t actually soothe the mind. Pain, heartache, sorrow, regret and so many mixed feelings storm inside me after death. January 2015, I have been to two funerals and what I saw was very painful. Acknowledging the fact that somebody you love has disappeared from this world. It hurts me deeply and on top of that to think that your loved ones vanished into nothingness! How would you feel…? The final moments of someone’s death is truly important but in a hospital setting, especially in a country like South Africa. I believe that death is just another task that is ticked off. I do not want to believe that death is the end, the last or the final.
Memories and legacies in the future will still live on. You will still live on. “I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless death” by Corazon Aquino
People may leave something behind for us to remember them and you will be remembered while you remember others. I believe that all the patients I see; I will give my best to communicate, smile, laugh and send off positive energy. I will only see them a few minutes of the day, I will only see them around 3 to 4 days thus I will make those minutes’ count. Death may be near to an individual but I will try to make that road a little brighter for them and tell them that death is not the end. That they will live on. (Glen, 2017)
“For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son and whomever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John chapter 3:16.
Yes, I am a Christian, I believe that after Jesus came and washed away our sins, he gave us back the life we threw away, to live on even after death. He saved us from being damned in hell, a prospect worse than being inside a void of nothingness.
Death is not the end: it is not final but rather a new beginning.
REFERENCES
Aquino, C. (2009, August 1). Death Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/death
Philip, J. (2017, October 22). How doctors are taught to deal with death. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/how-doctors-are-taught-to-deal-with-death-84429
Glen, R. (2017, November 1). Tips for Talking with Someone Who is Dying. Retrieved from http://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home/Topics/Topics/Communication/Tips+for+Talking+with+Someone+Who+is+Dying.aspx
2 thoughts on “Death Final?”
Hey Stephen! I am going to use the rubric attached to comment on your work.
Content: I think the topic of Death is very relevant to our ethics subject, especially since you elaborated on how we as health professionals approach and handle death in our patient’s. I really liked how you were able to relate your emotions as well as religious views to the writing piece. Furthermore, the usage of images or videos will help to increase the strength of your discussion.
Argument: I think the claims presented in this writing piece has been set out in a logical structure and it was easy to grasp the argument that you are trying to get across.
References: I did not see any references and feel that it would be best to attach a few to your literature. I know that this was only a draft and am however confident that you will add them to your final submission.
Writing: I did not find any spelling errors, however, there are areas in which the tense of the speech could possibly be improved. I thought your content flowed really smoothly and I am confident that you will do really well in your final submission!
Apologies if my comments were in any way offensive. Feel free to contact me should you need further assistance, keep well!
Hi Stephen. Thank you submitting a piece that invokes such emotion.
Content: I think the topic of death is relevant to our ethics lectures in class, I enjoyed how you were able to link your emotions and clinical experiences. Have you perhaps thought about finding articles relating to health professionals attitudes or feelings about patient death?
Argument: Whilst your argument has good foundation, it could be substantiated by articles relating to people of different faiths or belief systems and their beliefs of the afterlife.
References: The writing piece needs more references for substantiation.
Writing: Although your writing piece was a bit short, there were very few grammatical errors throughout and it had good flow to it.
Regards
Timothy