Being Mortal

abag.OrImightnotbeabletorelievetheblockageat all. Shedidn’taskanymorequestionsafterthat.Iaskedher whatshe’dunderstood.Shesaidshe ...

itsalmostimmediatereturn.Shewasstartingtograspthat thisiswhattheclosingphaseofamodernlifeoftenlooks like—a mountingseriesof cris ...

knowledgeofthefragilityofhislifenarrowedhisfocus and altered his desires, just as Laura Carstensen’s researchonperspectivesugges ...

surgery.Asforthespinaloperation,hestillfearedhe’d lose more than he’d gain. After his retirement party that June, I braced for t ...

Bythefollowingspring,hewascompletinghissecond circuitthrough thedistrict.Buttheweaknessinhisleft arm had progressed. He couldn’t ...

become.Mymother,tearing,saidshewouldbetherefor him.Shewouldbehappytotakecareofhim.Alreadythe shifthadstarted.Hewashavingherdomor ...

aventilatorandafeedingtube.Hedidn’tsoundlikehe wanted that, I said. “Never,” he said. “Let me die instead.” Thosequestionsweream ...

cardiacmonitorshowedsignsofapotentialheartattack, andtheyhaltedtheoperation.Withmedications,theygot himbackintoa normalrhythm.Ac ...

himtosqueezetheresident’shandsastightlyashecould, topushagainsthimwithhisfeet,tolifthislegsoffthe bed. There was no major loss o ...

Theresultsofthetumorbiopsyshowedmyfatherhadan astrocytoma,arelativelyslow-growingcancer.Afterhe’d recovered, Benzel referred him ...

moldforuptoanhour,afishnetmaskpulledtightover hisface,unabletomovetwomillimetersastheradiation machineclickedandwhirredanddelive ...

appetiteandketamine,ananesthetic,tocontrolhispain, but the drugs made him hallucinate. We didn’t understand what was happening. ...

numberofsyllablesper drug: 4.1.It wasdizzying.He could take befacizimab, carboplatin, temozolomide, thalidomide, vincristine, vi ...

Sheallowedthattheycould,butitdependedonthedrug. Thediscussionbecamedifficultformeormyparentsto follow,despiteallthreeofusbeingdo ...

Thequestionmade her squirm. “It’s hardto say,” she said. Ipushedher.“What’stheshortesttimeyou’veseenand the longesttime you’ve s ...

Oneofthebeautiesoftheoldsystemwasthatitmade these decisions simple. You took the most aggressive treatmentavailable.Itwasn’tadec ...

bathroom,shesaid, but whenhewent tostand up,his legswouldn’tholdhim,andhewentdown.Thefloorwas carpeted.Hedidn’thithisheadanddidn ...

Isetaboutarranginga planeticketbackhometoOhio andcancelingmypatientsand commitmentsinBoston. Twohourslaterhecalledback.He’dcalme ...

“I don’t know,” he said. “Have you had trouble getting your breath?” “He can breathe,” my mom said. “We’regoingtoneedaproperwayt ...

medical solutions take over, what were we to do? Betweenthethreeofuswehad 120 yearsofexperience inmedicine,butitseemedamystery.I ...