Since early April, most of the emails welcoming me to End of Life Washington (EOLWA) as Executive Director have almost apologetically pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a challenging time to step into my new role. Indeed, it is a time to be adaptable,...
We know that many supporters from our End of Life Washington community saw the full-page letter from the Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan CEOs in last Sunday’s Seattle Times newspaper (Read it HERE). After reading the letter we knew that you deserved a public...
How June unfolded in service to EOLWA clients By Chris Fruitrich/Volunteer Client Adviser What follows is a much-abbreviated summary of this volunteer’s work with clients seeking information on the Death with Dignity law. While there is no “average” month (June in...
By Cassandra Sutherland/Client Services Manager First, it was small things, he would forget that I had called, he stopped being able to cook a meal and unable to follow a recipe. He lost his ability to read because he would forget what had just happened a few pages...
A Client Adviser, Charlie (*named changed), faced a large Chinese family whose matriarch wanted to use the Death with Dignity law to quiet the pain she had felt for months. At one meeting the client, three daughters, three sons-in-law and our Charlie* sat around a...
Along those same lines, a Client Adviser was assigned to a couple who wanted to rush and get the Death with Dignity medication as soon as possible. When he met with them he asked which of them had a terminal disease. They looked at him and then at each other and...
Not every case ends in someone’s death. In fact, a majority of our clients never use the Death with Dignity law. A long-term Client Adviser helped bring peace to one such young man who lived in another state but wanted to come to Washington to use the law. He had been...
Early in the life of Washington’s Death with Dignity Act, one of our ageless, tireless and inspirational lead Client Advisers found herself helping a young woman use the law to end the suffering caused by her brain tumor. The client died without incident after...
A strong, independent woman suffering with terminal cancer and her favorite niece found themselves in an emotional conflict as the aunt approached her Death with Dignity decision. The aunt was not going to be deterred from taking her life-ending medication while the...
Ethicists debate ‘medical aid in dying’ for dementia patients by Tanya Ott Ethicists debate ‘medical aid in dying’ for dementia patients Discussing end-of-life medical care can be really difficult for family, but especially so when the terminal condition is something...
