Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Right to die, right to live

I was appalled to read the news that Congress had decided to step into the Terry Schiavo case. Not only do I agree with their moralistic quest but I don't think that it is within any scope of Congress' power to intervene on what is a family matter, and at most, a state issue. Come on, isn't Congress there to legislate interstate issues? How does Terry Schiavo, in any way, have to do with other states?

Now, to the issue of whether I think she should be allowed to die. I think that to have someone in a "permanent vegetative state" for more than 15 years is almost cruel. Would anyone want to be in that position? To have a caretaker 24 hours a day, to not be able to enjoy life, not be able to participate in life? I understand that some people may and that others see that life, in all its forms, is too valuable to take away. However, I also believe that for other people, they should be allowed to die with dignity and not be subject to years of living in a "permanent vegetative state."

In the end, it's all about personal volition. If you want to end your life, and are unable to do so, others should be able to help you do so in a humane and dignified way.

New Orleans, here I am!

So, here I am in the deep South and thoroughly enjoying my vacation. There's really not much to see here in New Orleans, but there's plenty of relaxing to do.

Being in the South is rather odd. I've never been further south than Washington DC, so this is an experience in Southern living. First, everyone has a Southern accent. That's just cool. Secondly, everyone is obese - I guess it's too much southern cooking. Thirdly, everyone smokes and it's absolutely disgusting. At the airport, I even saw a woman who was at least 8 months pregnant smoking away.

I wanted to go to school at Tulane, here in New Orleans. Now that I think about it, I have no idea how I could have dealt with living in the South. New Orleans is a city, but not a city in the sense that you have public transportation and a metropolitan area. However much I gripe about Boston, I'd have to admit that I prefer it to New Orleans.

Now, off to explore on my own.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Shortsightedness

Really, how can anyone be against saving the environment? I'm not a huge environmentalist by any measure, but it just seems to make sense to want to save it for future generations and preserve some remnant of nature. I'm just ranting about how the Senate just voted in favor of drilling in the Arctic, and wrote it into the budget.

What is the justification for drilling? Money. We don't want to pay for oil and we want to seem independent of "other nations" (aka the Middle East) on our ever-expanding oil needs. So, instead of reducing demand for oil by investing in alternative energy sources and such, the administration and other politicians have decided that we just need to tap one of the greatest natural treasures in the United States. Can anyone explain to me why we need to destroy nature for the sake of driving SUVs?

Sunday, March 6, 2005

Crazy stuff

I feel like I'm going crazy. Or maybe the city of Boston has gone crazy.

* I saw a man, about 4 feet tall, wearing a three piece suit and a baseball hat tonight.
* Last night, playing 9-ball, I managed to hit the 3 in, then try and hit the 5... apparently not realizing that 4 is in between 3 and 5.
* I went to a club last night and upon walking in, realized that ALL the men were dancing like freaks. Really. I know generally, men can't dance, but they were beyond the "bad dancing but I'll take it" limit.

Can't think of anything else. Maybe it is just me.

Reminders

A patient that I had spent time listening to, just listening to, told me how much it had mattered to her. I had not laid a hand on her. I did not find out what was wrong with her. Really, I did nothing "medical" at all. However, she said, very poignantly, that she had woken up that morning feeling very anxious and uncertain about how she was going to make it through the day. Then, after speaking to me, she feels a lot better and is looking forward to the day. She then thanked me more sincerely than I have ever heard anyone speak. She thanked me for listening. People like her are why I decided to go into medicine and every once in awhile, it's good to be reminded of such.

Reminders

A patient that I had spent time listening to, just listening to, told me how much it had mattered to her. I had not laid a hand on her. I did not find out what was wrong with her. Really, I did nothing "medical" at all. However, she said, very poignantly, that she had woken up that morning feeling very anxious and uncertain about how she was going to make it through the day. Then, after speaking to me, she feels a lot better and is looking forward to the day. She then thanked me more sincerely than I have ever heard anyone speak. She thanked me for listening. People like her are why I decided to go into medicine and every once in awhile, it's good to be reminded of such.