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Let’s Talk About Death

When I saw that one of the topics of the Medium Writers Challenge was Death, my heart leapt like a young deer in a meadow. This is where I come alive! That probably sounds strange, but death is one of my favorite subjects. Not sure why, but I hope to figure it out before I get there. My wife used to say that one of the reasons I was good at being a doctor was that I was comfortable with death and dying. That may have been one of the reasons. I am retired now so over the past years I have reached a better understanding about my own eventual demise.

I am not going to resort to the usual fatigued phrases, the “Grim Reaper”, or calling Death a Gentleman or some other crap. Death is also much more than just the absence of life. It is a many-faceted gem. It is the final goal, or not. It is an opportunity for growth and new life for those who remain alive. Death is the ultimate teacher.

Giving this final phase of human existence the honorific of “final goal” seems to demean the rest of our endeavors. I am, like everyone else, very fond of my warm, pliable skin. Fond of my heart, which I only know is there when it acts up, as I have atrial fibrillation. That is an irregular and rapid heart beat which just pops its head up at random moments. An irregular, irregular heart beat. This lets me know that my pump is still there and could stop anytime it chooses. What a nasty little organ for something which…