ZDoggMD (Zubin Damania) is a comedian, singer, activist and internal medicine MD. His covers of popular songs are often hilarious and usually have a medical theme.
This time, it's different. This song is not about humor. Nothing funny. It's about the last few days of life. The confusion, anger, fear, family interactions, medical decisions and more, often left till too late.
It's about making important decisions early, before there's an emergency, while people are clear headed and sensible. The video and the short article and discussion that follow are a great beginning to this topic.
More below the orange heavenly cloud of peace.
The video is short, but it encompasses many of the things that patients, families, doctors and medical staff face, sometimes on a daily basis.
Full code or not?
Transfer to ICU?
Care and comfort only?
Who did the patient discuss his last wishes with?
Is there a written document?
Should he go on the ventilator?
What are his chances?
What would the patient want?
All important questions, many of which should be addressed, clarified and appropriately documented long before the patient gets to this point.
The lyrics, which are at the end of the "ZDogg" link are pretty powerful and thought provoking.
This is a discussion we all should be having. About what we want done at the ends of our lives. It might also provoke a discussion of physician assisted suicide.
Lacking a coherent view of how people might live successfully all the way to their very end, we have allowed our fates to be controlled by the imperatives of medicine, technology, and strangers.
~Dr. Atul Gawande, Being Mortal
You only die once. Do it on your own terms.
~ZDoggMD
WARNING: the video is fast-paced and a little blunt when talking about life-or-death issues.
http://zdoggmd.com/...
https://www.youtube.com/...