Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Ken Hillman, Allen & Unwin, $29.99.
Death and ageing are depressing subjects, but Professor Ken Hillman, a practising intensive care specialist, focuses on “intelligent pessimism rather than false optimism”.
He asks the pertinent questions and discusses the responses that need to be addressed.
“Death loses its power over us when it is faced matter-of-factly. I believe it would be more depressing to become frail and be near the end of life surrounded by dishonesty and false hope.”
Professor of Intensive Care at the University of NSW asks why so many elderly people linger in pain and confusion in ICU when all they want is to die at home in peace and with their loved ones. This is a crucial and timely rallying cry against unnecessary suffering and for humanity, and gentle acceptance at the end of our lives.
It’s obvious Professor Hillman is a fervent advocate of improving the management of the dying patient in acute hospitals.
When taking control of our inevitable journey through ageing and death, this book does not present the Walt Disney version; it is not about how to live longer, how cancer can be cured or how to avoid dementia. He is straightforward in his description of ageing, its inevitability and its obvious relationship with dying and death.
“Our passage from the cradle to the grave has become increasingly medicalised. Parents suffering prolonged and medicalised deaths in hospitals, with the patient and relatives given little say in what happens.”
Professor Hillman’s interest in the issues, and of life, has been driven by the change in the population and intensive care units. Attracted by the logic and science of intensive care medicine, the potential for prolonging life seemed infinite.
“I still experience the excitement of saving a life that otherwise would have certainly ended. But I also appreciate the satisfaction associated with orchestrating a good dying process – pain-free, with the patient’s dignity intact, and relative who accept the dying process and are free to grieve n their own way.”
Ageing is about understanding and acceptance. You cannot accept what you don’t know and this book is an attempt to inform, with patient stories based on real situations.
Knowledge about the true state of our health gives us control over our own life and related decisions. This book serves us well. “It’s a call to arms: it is time to take charge of dying.”
