Those dying in pain deserve dignity

To the editor:

After reading the very poignant letter to the editor by Austin Flynn, I felt I would like to add a few cents worth.

As Austin points out, being with someone whom you know is going to pass away in the immediate future is very hard.

There are not enough words in the dictionary to describe just how you feel while you are in the Twilight Zone, somewhere between reality and denial.

Your mind races through all the thoughts:

Did I do enough?

Was there someone else they could have seen?

Could I have helped prevent this?

Well, the answer to all the above is, no.

Having been through a similar situation with my wife, I can sympathize with Austin.

I do know many times Vicki would say to me, in a very private way, “I just want to get this over with, I can’t live like this.”

Of course I, in my selfish human feeling, did not want to entertain the thought that she would not be around to enjoy more things that we had planned to do. I always thought that there was something just around the corner that would clear the clouds.

It was not to be.

I agree that when a human being is in this shape and there is nothing more that medicine, doctors, specialists can do than to eliminate needless suffering, a dignified way to end would be very humane and gracious.

We had talked a lot about would the ending of one’s life be a breaking of God’s law.

I believe, and I hope that she did, that when a person is in this condition, God would understand and give comfort.

The way my wife looked and felt in the very end will stay with me for as long as I live.

When she had a Fentanyl patch, morphine, Ibuprofen and Tylenol, all at the same time, and could not kill the pain, who would think ill of letting them stop the agony and suffering themselves.

In honor and memory of Vicki, I also support the Indiana House Bill 1020.

Charles E. Tague

Portland