September 4 - Read Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich (emailed to you a week ago) and Gawande's Being Mortal - Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2
- How much confidence do we and should we place in the medical establishment for our well-being?
- How much of our care is driven by insurance, technology, pharmaceutical giants, others’ egos, family needs?
- How well are we prepared already for end-of-life living? How much “living” are we willing to inflict on those we love?
- What about have we learned, both good and ill, from our elders about witnessing dying and death? about enabling others to die well or ill?
- What is the most important thing about living independently? What is essential?
- See p. 15, paragraph 1: note the eight “Activities of Daily Living” required for physical independence—how well can we complete them all each day without any assistance? Then note the eight “Independent Activities of Daily Living”—how well can we complete those without any assistance? (For example, I recall that my grandmother had never read a bill or written a check when my grandfather died; my father had no idea at all how to manage his medications, pay bills, maintain the house when my mother died.)
- See pp. 29-31 for “the story of aging.” What is happening to us?
- After completing career and rearing children, what is our main source of self worth?
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