Martha has returned to her palliative care clinic to discuss her options with her nurse.
Martha: So, what are my options?
Nurse: What do you mean by that, Martha?
Martha: Well, I've been dealing with this for so long and I'm so tired of doctors, hospitals, treatments. I just want to go home and die.
Nurse: Have things changed?
Martha: Well, it's basically all over for me, so isn't there some way that we can speed this up? I couldn't handle a slow decline and maybe choking to death. I don't see the point in a couple of extra months just slowly dying.
Nurse: What are your main concerns?
Martha: I guess it's just all getting too much. I mean, I can't do the things I enjoy anymore. And I have to depend on other people to do things that I used to be able to do so easily, all by myself.
Nurse: Hmm.
Martha: I can't eat properly, I can't remember the last time I had steak. I don't know, it's just... I feel like I'm just sitting around, waiting to die. And I can't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep.
Nurse: There are certainly things we can do to help with your sleeping, Martha. There's medication we can give and relaxation exercises, a whole range of things. And there's also things we can do to help with your diet. So, if you're happy, I'll refer you off to the dietitian, who can give you some suggestions about that.
Nurse: Well, that sounds good, but right now I just would like to know my options in terms of you helping me to die. I read that there are laws regarding this.
Doctor: Yes, Martha, the law has changed. If you want to access voluntary assisted dying, you need to meet certain criteria. So, you have to have a terminal illness, like you do have, but you have to make a formal verbal request to your treating doctor. So, I know you're seeing Gary after you've seen me, so if you want to ask him that question, you can. There's quite a process that you need to go through to decide if you're eligible. But I can give you some information on that if you'd like. And once you've been through that process, I will continue to support you, whether you go ahead or you don't. On top of that, I'll talk to the rest of the team about getting some extra supports in for you and about maybe getting you some counselling support as well. How would that be?
Martha: OK, that'd be good.
Reviewed 17 April 2024