A Humane Death: A Personal Story of Why California Needs a New Law

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Mary Stompe

Should a terminally ill person have the right to end their life with a doctor’s assistance?

I had reservations about this until I saw firsthand the suffering someone can go through at the end of their life when they have a terminal illness.

No one should have to experience what my father went through during his last month of life.

Diagnosed with terminal Stage 4 esophageal cancer that had metastasized, with no chance of any recovery, he was forced to suffer. A 35-centimeter tumor grew in his esophagus, stopping his ability to eat, drink and swallow.

As his daughter, there was nothing I could do for him.

He was an 80-year old man who led a healthy lifestyle, who was active and never smoked, but his years of acid reflux eventually turned cancerous.

When my father went home to die, I took a leave of absence from my job to be by his side.

He suffered terribly, every day pleading with me to find a way to end his suffering. Desperate to help him, I researched alternatives for him. I learned there was nothing I could do legally to help him but be by his side and comfort him.

His pain intensified and he began to lose a lot of weight. Once a strong man, his body was fading away before my eyes as he lay starving. The intravenous feeding tube was removed because it made him so ill.

Finally, the tumor in his throat burst and he died. Not before he suffered immensely, gasping for air, but unable to breath.