The Final Wish

One day as I am about to pass away, I would rather not be in the hospital. I do not want to be confined to a bed with tubes sticking out and into my body, I do not want foreign substances being pump into my body only to continue my ability to lie on the bed staring at the white plain depressing ceiling. I would like to be by the lively beach with my loved one, listening to the peaceful ocean waves, feeling the sun rays on my body and slowly, and hopefully painlessly, drift from this world. As I look at the Hawaii Advance Directive, the most stunning information I found was what you could choose what to donate your organs for, whether for transplant, therapy, research, and/or education. I knew that donating organs is an important matter and one that would benefit future generations. However, I had never realized how others people might care about where their exact organs are being used for when they no longer live in this world. 

This was not the first time I had seen an advance directive though. I had filled out one during health studies class in High School. Contracting between the time I filled it out in High School and how I would fill it out today, I realized how my perspective had changed over time. No longer do I hope to travel to London and Paris before I passed on; rather, I wish to be with family and friends and pass away in a natural setting, preferably the beach. My final wish is not to be confined in a hospital, not to extend my life to anymore suffering, but simply to acknowledge that I ran a good race and about to cross the finish line. 

Death

Blessie Vergara

Post #9

Formerly an office assistant responsible for filing paperwork regarding end-of-life measures and currently a CNA directly providing care to people whose lives are about to end, I am no stranger to the topic of death. Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST), and Advance Health Care Directives are several terms that I am exposed to on a constant basis. When I think of these things, I only think about my clients and how it affects them. One would think that I think about this topic more than others my age, but that’s not the case. I guess one could say that I’ve been desensitized from it. Besides, I am only 18 years old.

However, since our Honors 101 class started reading Being Mortal and after hearing about the recent death of a 22-year-old UH Manoa student, I realized that my own death could be just around the corner. When I look at the Advance Health Care Directive in terms of myself, I am confident about the measures I will take.

Part 2 of the Advance Health Care Directive gives me the option to continue receiving life-saving treatment in a life-or-death situation or to prohibit life-saving measures. Without a doubt, I would choose to prohibit life-saving measures. If doctors and nurses have tried everything possible to preserve my life under non-invasive treatment, I do not want to prolong it under what could be invasive measures. My family would be against this decision because they know that I am naturally the type to look at the brighter side of things and are aware of my ‘fighting’ spirit. On the flip side, there is a point where sustaining life would do more harm than good in all aspects-- mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. This may hurt my family, but at the end of the day what matters is doing what is best for myself (even if it may seem selfish).

When providing care to my clients, I strive to provide care that respects their wishes while reflecting on my own.

Finalists for Chancellor of Manoa

Take a look. Attend one of the presentations. Get involved!

https://www.hawaii.edu/executivesearch/manoa_chancellor/

My Role Model- Brian Nguyen

                My grandmother will forever be my role model. She was born in a rural farm in Northern Vietnam with close to nothing. A tall, serious woman, my grandma started working by selling Vietnamese dishes to her neighbors. When the Vietnam War was underway, she immigrated to America with her family in search of the United States’ freedom of opportunity.

                My grandma hustled and never took a break her entire adult life. Over the years, she opened up a restaurant, a market, and an arts and crafts store. Her arts and crafts store was actually the first in all of Orange County and is still open today.

                One of the earliest memories I shared with Grandma was when I was around five. My family was at a charity auction and there was a moment when my grandmother was being honored by the hundreds of people in the room for her philanthropy and contributions to those affected by Agent Orange. Looking back, this is one of the occasions where I began admiring my grandma for all of the prestige she had built from her humble beginnings.

                My respect and love for my grandma is why it has been so hard for me to watch her age. She has clung onto every medical treatment in order to prolong her life. Her daily regimen consists of around five pills, expensive ginseng, and whatever health miracle her friends introduce to her. I have watched my grandmother undergo multiple surgeries and see the best specialists for her multiple health problems. And what is this battle all for? I have never seen her smile for over five years since taking all of these medications and treatments. She is a sullen enigma of the brilliant, tough entrepreneur that I used to know.

                If I was in pain and no longer felt joy. I would definitely choose to end my life. Nobody knows the ultimate meaning of life but to me, a major part of living is being happy. I want to spend every moment of my life with a purpose, not just for the purpose of getting older. 

Health-Care Directive

Rochelle Coloma
Blog Post #9

        Four years ago, my grandpa suddenly fell ill and caught Pneumonia. He was already placed in a long-term care facility long before I was born but we all knew being with him at this critical time was our first priority. Nurses and doctors would constantly come and go and we all grew weary with each passing day. For some days, his condition improved and in others, it would worsen and create new problems. It seemed like a never-ending cycle and I was left feeling uncertain of the future. A week had past and my grandpa’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. His body was declining the medications and needed a tube to help with his breathing. I could see the effect it had on my family and I withheld a lot of my emotions in fear of making the situation worse. One day, my mom had picked me up from school and she started talking about how much suffering and pain my grandpa was going through and what they thought was best to do next. My mom did not necessary put it into words but regardless, I knew they would want the suffering to stop and end everything. I was completely shocked and once I regained the ability to speak again, I started to panic and question her. I felt as if I was the only one left with hope and my entire family just gave up. Within that same day, plans did not necessarily go through since my grandpa had already passed away.

         When I now think of death, two words always seem to enter my mind—immediate and permanence. Since it was our first time as a family to experience a close family member’s death, his quick passing impacted us greatly. Therefore, out of all the options in the Hawai’i Advance Health-Care Directive, I would choose to create a living will. I think my own family and children will somehow find closure much more easier knowing I made all the decisions in terms of my death and care. Also, I find it hard to put the entire burden on a person I love and make the difficult choice of whether or not to continue my life.  

Health Care Directive

    I would pick a family member to be my agent, such as my mom or my brother, and let them make all decisions because I can’t think of anything that I would exclude from their power. If I am not able to make a decision, someone has to, or else the doctor, who most likely does not know me beyond just one of his patients, will be the one to make the decision 

    I think the second part of this decision, the agent’s authority, is difficult to think about. Thinking about what kind of decisions an agent can and cannot make for you while you are incapable is overwhelming. What do they need to decide on exactly? Will we not even know until that moment? After all, we can’t think of everything right now, that’s too much unknown territory, which is why I’m sure most people leave it blank.

   Personally, I think filling out this form is probably something that most people don’t do. It’s difficult to think about dying and what happens after you enter in to a state of dying, which is something Gawande emphasizes in his book as well. We don’t want to think about dying, so we try to prevent it rather than think about the things that need to be done when we reach this inevitable fate. 

Blog post 9_Health-Care Directive

end of life directive
In my twenties, it may be good to start considering about the end of life directives because we do not know when we are going to die, but I do not have time to spare to think about death right now. However, I had thought about it a while ago when I got my license; an organ donation declaration of intention column provided on the back side of the Japanese driver's license. When I first got my license, I remember it took me days and days to decide which one to circle. There were three options. First, I will give my organs for transplantation after either case of brain death or death by heart arrest. Second, I will give my organs for transplantation only after death by heart arrest. Third, I will not donate my organs. I don't remember exactly how long it took me to choose which one to circle, but I chose the second option. My grandpa died on March of pancreatic cancer. ADVANCE HEALTH-CARE DIRECTIVE reminded me of an organ donation declaration of intention column on the back of my license and when my grandpa was making an end of life decisions. My grandpa seemed he already knew what he wanted to do with his life and how he wanted to end it, but it is so hard to think he decided these in such a short time. The X-ray which grandpa had done showed that his cancer had spread widely. As a matter of fact, it is advancing very rapidly, and the doctor told us that it was pancreatic cancer. Considering his age, he had anticancer drugs treatment instead of having an operation. The doctor said that it is not a matter of years, but is a matter of months. It was stressful watching the physical changes at last stages of life as it was for my grandpa.

Page 5 in the HAWAII ADVANCE HEALTH-CARE DIRECTIVE, question 6 is about the choice to prolong life or choice not to prolong life.
If I were to choose one, I would choose not to prolong my life, but if I could choose not to or to give life-prolonging treatment for a family member, I definitely would think about it. However, more and more I think about life-prolonging treatment, I feel it is humans egoism to keep dying alive.

Honoring Death

Blog Post #9

by Richard Ho

I am a fan of the Health-care Directive. After my grandmother past away this summer, I knew that a prolonged death of a family member is never easy on the individual and the family. Not only does the individual have to go through traumatic surgeries and endure an extended pain, but also other members of the family are psychologically damaged.

My grandmother didn’t have the choice to make her own decisions. By the end of her life, she was unable to process words and speak. So the decision ultimately fell on my parents, who desperately wanted her to live. I knew that my mom regretted making this decision. I don’t blame her. It was an incredibly hard decision to make. However, if time were to rewind, I would consult my parents, and tell them, that they are not betraying their moral values or abandoning my grandmother. It is just nature running its course, no one’s an exception in the face of death.

In terms of my own choices of life, I would want my family members to stop all medical treatments, if the result of the treatment is a life-less body. I wouldn’t consider myself living, if only my heart is beating and my brain is “alive”. I value the quality of life. I only consider myself living, if I’m able to make decisions for myself, and I don’t have to constantly rely on others to help me accomplish my goals.

In addition, I would donate my organs after death. I used to be squeamish about donating my “body parts” to another person. After an enlightening speech from my high school biology teacher, I changed my mindset. I believe that it would be a privilege to impacting a person’s life, before leaving this world. After all, I would no longer need them, when I’m buried in soil. 

Advance Health-Care Directive

Hunter Garrett
Post #9
The Perception of The Physical Realm

        This health-care directive presented some very intense decisions to make that will be taken into account upon death.  It was almost overwhelming to think about.  Given my current physical state right now at an age of only eighteen, it was very difficult to think about these matters so early.  This is not something that has ever caught my attention or thought.  I find that these moral decisions really come down to one's perception of the physical world and your physical body.  If one sees death as the end of everything, or feels that it will lead to total disappearance, then it is reasonable to see why one would try to postpone death as long as they possibly can.  However, if one sees the spirit as something that lives on eternally in another dimension and feels that death is merely the passage of one realm to the next, then it is understandable to see why they wouldn't resist death when it arrives.  I have read a lot about these spiritual realms, and have seen proof of the existence of spirits.  Therefore, I do not perceive the physical realm as the end of everything following a complete and total erase of your mind into dark nothingness.  Death will be the demise of everyone at one point in their lives and it can happen at any given moment in which we are then forced to accept this reality.  However, the spirit and the body are too separate things, and when the physical body is gone the spirit still lives on.
        This way of thinking aided my decisions in this health-care directive to some extent.  If I were diagnosed as terminally ill with an incurable disease, had a rapidly degrading physical condition, or was completely and permanently disabled; then I would not want to prolong my life in any way.  I refuse to accept unnatural and artificial nutrition and hydration, and would accept treatment to alleviate pain even if it hastens my demise.  If I I was going to die, I would not prolong the inevitable and just accept death as a completely natural occurrence.  I see no point in wasting anybody's time and money just to do the impossible only to live with the burden of failing to overcome my death.  There is no point in prolonging life in an unnatural matter through technological machines if it will only prolong pain and agony.  This will only hurt myself and the others around me.  The way I see it, it is better to die sooner and comfortably than to die later but in severe pain.  Staying alive and truly "living" are two separate things and there is no point in staying in life if one is in a permanent and agonizing vegetative physical state.  If I can't live normally with full functionality as I am supposed to and am terminally disabled, then I see no point in trying to stay alive given that I would be able to do nothing.  I do not want to be a burden on anyone and be completely helpless or useless as then it would make my life feel futile.  Death seems like the more humane choice in these particular situations.  In terms of organ donation, I would donate my organs to whoever needed for them whether it is for research or transplants.  I see the physical body is nothing but a shell that will disappear into nothing once the soul leaves it.  Donating organs to extend their use is better than letting them decay into nothing where nobody would benefit from any of them.
        While it does seem great how you can hire an agent to carry out your pre-selected decisions for you in case you lose the ability to think or communicate, I am a bit skeptical about the idea.  Putting my decisions in the hands of someone else just doesn't feel right, even though they are a hundred percent obligated to carry out and convey all of your decisions with complete and total trust.  Although, it seems better than having nobody to speak for you when your time of demise falls upon you and you are unable to think or speak for yourself.  Death is simply an inevitable occurrence in life that you can only avoid if you are continuously thinking.  It does seem brutally intense given how this health-directive must be filled out early before your time comes and it is too late, but I feel that this is highly beneficial for your future.  It is quite serious; but the simple fact of the matter is that if you want your decisions respected upon dying, then these difficult choices must ultimately be thought about and made.

Blog 8: Death

Jon Abe

My Bleak, Pessimistic View on Death: Physician Assisted Suicide

    They say that in life there are only two things that are imminent: death and taxes.  Although I would like to think that I am a long way from dying, as I am only nineteen years old, the fact of the matter is that I do not know when my time will come.  I would be lying if I told you that I do not think about death every once in a while.  In fact, I probably think about death too much.  Every time I put on a lime-green St. Francis Volunteer shirt and sit at a bedside at the Nuuanu Hospice center, the thought of death flashes through my mind. I cannot help but envision myself 60, 70 years down the road on that bed helpless and slowly withering away.  After a year of volunteering at Hospice, there is no doubt in my mind that I would sign the dotted line on the form that reads “Do not resuscitate.”  In fact, I would go so far as to sign the Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) form, although it is not an option in the state of Hawaii.  If in the future I had Alzheimer's, ALS, stage 4 cancer (if a cure for cancer is not found by then) or any disease that would lead to my death in the foreseeable future, I would ask to be put down.  Though my opinion may be considered to be radical and unorthodox, I 100% stand by it, for now at least.  Perhaps when or if I have children of my own, my view will change.  To me, it makes no sense to suffer unnecessarily.  I have seen many instances where the family tries to do anything possible just to prolong their family member’s life for a little while longer.  Although they have all the right intentions, in most cases they cause more harm to the member than they would have experienced had they died.  If in the future I have ALS, it would be torturous to lose slowly by slowly lose control and function of my body until I suffocate to death because I no longer have the capacity to move my diaphragm and breathe.  Why not forgo or minimize the pain by partaking in PAS?  If indeed PAS is legal in Hawaii, then there would be no need for an agent to sign of on my medical forms.  However in the case that PAS is not legal in Hawaii, I would let my wife or children be the agent, but I would tell them in advance what my wishes are and hope that they honor my wishes.
    As for donating my organs, I have already indicated on my driver’s license that in lieu of my death, I will donate my organs.  However, I am not so sure whether or not I would be willing to donate my body to a medical school or for research.  I will leave that decision up to my wife and children.  If they are satisfied with my body being used for research purposes, then so be it.  However, if they want to cremate my body and place it in a grave for closure, then I am fine with that as well. 

Blog Post #9 Health-Care Directive

Michael Dang
Hon101

The Health-Care Dilemma

Upon looking at the decisions that need to be made when considering a health-care directive, I found the choice between having someone make my decision or having a living will to be very tough. Because I’m at the ripe age of nineteen, it’s very hard to think about this topic since it seems so distant in the future. I’m just a young adult trying to finish college, so the topic of making my own health-care directive didn’t really cross my mind until now. But in the world, anything can happen. There are disasters and horrible events that occur everyday which result in deaths, and the thought of that can be very scary. There is no guarantee to how long one can live.

Two years ago, my grandma had a stroke that made her bed-ridden in a hospital. She started off fine the first few months after the stroke as she was still lively and animated in her room. When my family and I would visit, she would talk with us about her day and we would ask her how she was doing. She would always complain about how she wanted to go home to my auntie’s house, but there wasn’t anything we could do. The doctors still told us that she needed to be in the hospital. As a few more months passed by, my grandma had another stroke. This time, it was a lot worse. She could barely speak, and she had great difficulty moving. She stayed in her bed most of the day and only got out of bed to use the bathroom with the assistance of the nurses. When we visited her, I felt remorse and sorrow. It was hard to see my grandma like that, and I could hardly communicate with her. But she wanted to make her own decisions about her situation. She wanted life support, and she wanted to live as long as possible. So my family and I honored her wishes. Even if her life force was declining, we wanted her to live as long as well. She passed peacefully in her sleep with family members around her. 

If I had to make a decision right now, I would choose to have my own living will. I wouldn’t want someone else to decide whether to take me off life support or not. It’s a heavy burden to bear for others. 

Blog Post #9: Advance Directive

Amity Tran

HON 101

Schultz

27 October 2016

Blog Post #9: Advance Directive

My grandfather passed away from throat cancer in Vietnam a few decades ago. Before he passed, my aunt, who had immigrated to America, pleaded with him to let her bring him over so he can receive treatment for his cancer. He adamantly refused because he did not want to leave behind the life he had built in Vietnam. Instead, he chose to let the cancer take its course. Near the end of his life, he asked his family to put him in a basket and throw him into the river because he felt like his pain was a burden for the family. I was mortified. When my mother told me this story, I could not understand his decision. Honestly, I thought it was stupid. Why would you choose death over life?

I was nine years old when I heard that story, and at the time, death was unfathomable. One should always choose to live no matter what. Even now, being eighteen years old, I sometimes feel like nothing can happen to me, but then I hear stories of people close to my age dying. I imagine myself in their shoes. What would I do if I were in their situation? If I was in a state where I was unable to speak for myself, I would want my mother to make health-care decisions for me. I trust that she would make the right decision, even if she decides that it was better for me to pass. Even though my family probably would not be okay with this decision due to religious reasons, I would choose to donate my organs. Even though I am unable to use my body anymore, it may be useful to someone else. As for resuscitation, unless doctors are 100% certain I will never recover to my normal, healthy state, I would want to be resuscitated.

Death is something that is really hard for me to think about because I have seen it happen a few times, but eventually, I will have to realize that nothing lasts forever. As of now, I would like to live at all costs because I have so much more to experience. However, I think as I grow older and my idea of life and living changes, maybe I will understand why my grandfather chose to make the decision he did.

Iolani's hospice course

How many of you took this course? Just curious, because it looks wonderful--

http://www.summitzine.com/posts/hearts-and-minds/

Jen Yokoyama
Health-Care Decisions

     People, if they are lucky, get to a point in their lives where they have to fill out a health-care directive stating their decisions regarding what actions to take as they are nearing death.  There are a lot of options to consider checking off on the form, but when it comes down it it, everyone is just taking a different path to the same inevitable "end of the road".

     The section of the health-care directive that really stuck out to me was Part 2 (Instructions for Health Care), especially the part where the form asks the person of interest if they want to prolong or not prolong their life.  Personally, I would choose not to prolong my life, even if it causes me great pain and discomfort towards the end.  Nature has a way of telling living things that their time is up and letting them know that it is time to pass on.  If this applies to all life on Earth, it should apply to me as well.  I do not want to be hooked up to countless machines that are feeding me through an IV and helping me breathe.  At that point, I'm not myself anymore.  I can't do anything on my own and there isn't anything to enjoy in life if I get to that stage.  I would be there physically but not mentally, a living corpse just waiting for my body to catch up with my mind.

     This is a question that will pop up in everyone's lives in some way or form, and it is good that we are prompted to think about this at a younger age.  Death is unavoidable and it is the one constant in everyone's lives, as morbid as that sounds.  This health-care directive is just a way to help us prepare for that.

Blog Post #9: Health-care Directive

When to Let Go

       When I first opened up the Hawai’i Advance Health-Care Directive, I was surprised by how emotionless and solemn the wording was. The directive was conveying a very sensitive emotional decision about losing one’s independence and facing eminent death yet every aspect of the directive lacked any sense of understanding or comfort. After reading through the heavy choices on each page, I hoped that the agents I trust my life to will have more empathy than the writers of this directive. 

I have seen my mom shoulder the burden of determining the fate of my grandpa when he was in the hospital fighting cancer, and one of the concerns that came into question was whether my grandpa should be resuscitated or not. During his final days, I still remember the look of despair yet acceptance in my grandpa’s eyes, which said, “I am ready to die”. He didn’t want to hold onto a life where he would have to be constantly monitored by nurses, hooked to machines, and apart from his family. From my mom’s experience dealing with my grandpa’s life and grandpa’s experience dealing with his death, I have come to realize that at a certain point, I won’t be able to live my life how I want. At that point, I will have to accept death with grace, whether it be taking myself off life support or agreeing not to be resuscitated. Even though I can say I want to pass on with grace, I think I am too young to fully understand the feeling of accepting death, losing my independence, and having to leave my fate with someone else. Since I have so much more years to live and so much more experience and wisdom to gain, my mentality is to continue living for as long as I can. I think that with time and the aging of my body, I might come to understand when I should stop desperately grasping for life and when I should accept the reality of death. 

The importance of choosing the right agent

In my senior year of high school, I took a hospice class. The basic premise of the course was that the students were trained to be nurse aids and allowed to volunteer at hospice institutions of their choice. A part of the course focused on Advanced Health Care Directives. Our assignment was to speak to our family members about what we should do in case of an emergency. My mother and I decided that in case I was in a position of peril, unable to make my own decisions, she would become my agent. I also said that I want to be resuscitated because I am still young. In case I cannot be resuscitated, we decided that I would not prolong life. In her case, I would be the agent and she would have a do not resuscitate order, and a relief from pain order. We both decided to be organ donors. Talking about end of life decisions was very difficult, especially for me since I cannot conceive dying any time soon. However, it is very important to prepare for "what if" situations. The hardest part of our discussion was the "do not resuscitate" order that my mother preferred. I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that when the time comes, I will not be able to tell the doctors to save her no matter what. I tried to convince her to change her mind. However, she was adamant about her decision, and in the end, I could not make the decision for her. The most important aspect of the health care directive is choosing an agent who will be able to put their personal feelings aside and think of what the patient themselves would want.

In my case, death still seems like a very distant notion. However, I am aware that anything can happen. Especially following the accident on Tuesday. Although it may be difficult to talk about, it is an important family conversation, to let your agent know what you would like and why. It is as much a family decision as it is a personal decision.

Blog Post 9: Healthcare Directive

              Before I began to fill the eleven pages of empty space, I was taken aback by the straightforward explanation of vulnerability.  The purpose of a health-care directive is to both empower and protect an individual if life were to strip the person of his or her ability to decide.  Although this idea provided a structured sense of comfort, I felt very isolated and vulnerable.  It was almost as though the words on the paper were directly stripping me of my strength as an individual; the power to make and convey my own choices.  Even though I’ve never experienced this level of helplessness, reading the purpose of the directive cast me into the role of the withering and incapable. 

This imposed powerless state was further affirmed with the first part, which asked me to name a decision-maker.  Up to this point, I haven’t written anything into the directive, yet I feel as though my hands have been tied.  Not only has this agreement forced me to face the unpredictable nature of the future, it forced me to consider relinquishing my power to another person.  Who would I trust to make decisions for me? Who can I trust to ultimately deliver my wishes when I become unable to do so?  Who could I burden with the responsibility of my life? My younger brother was the first person I thought of and so I filled the form accordingly.  However, I realized that I was thinking of the future, as I wouldn’t task a fifteen-year-old boy to make decisions regarding someone else’s life.  While this form forced me to consider the worst, I still didn’t recognize the possibility of death at my age.  I realized that I approached this entire form with the future in mind.  I reflected upon the accident that occurred on Tuesday and then understood that death is ultimately unpredictable, inevitable, and unavoidable.  Although I’ve written over three hundred words about the first couple of pages, I’ve felt a plethora of emotions and conflictions from this task.  Dwelling on the worst-case scenario has transformed this task, which was intended to be a formal document like every other form in existence, into a daunting awakening to reality. 

End of Life Decisions

When my grandpa was hit by a car, he was in critical condition and had many operations, one of which included amputation of his left leg. He was sedated the moment he arrived at the hospital, but my aunty recalls seeing him open his eyes at one point (the sedative was probably wearing off), but there was also another instance where my grandma saw a tear fall out of his eye. This whole time, he was on life support until doctors saw that he was showing no signs of recovery.

When it comes to end-of-life decisions, there are many complications. However, if I am in a state of unconsciousness where my condition is relatively incurable and irreversible and the burdens of treatment outweigh the possible benefits, I would choose not to prolong life and to have artificial nutrition and hydration withheld from me. I want the doctors and nurses to do their best to save me, but to a reasonable extent. If there is largely no hope of surviving, I would also agree to treatment to relieve pain and discomfort, even if it speeds up death. It would be more ideal if this did not happen until I was old enough to be satisfied with the life that I lived, but even if it happened tomorrow, I would not change my decision. I would also like to donate all of my viable organs; it would not matter whether it is for transplants, research or for education. Although people may argue that any life is better than none at all, I disagree. If I happen to survive but my life drastically changes and I happen to inconvenience loved ones around me, I would rather naturally pass away than be kept alive by machines and artificial nutrients just to live an unsatisfactory life. If I were in my grandpa’s situation, I would not have wanted to be kept on life support after the doctors declared my health to be rapidly declining. My grandfather was an active person who loved to volunteer and make occasional profits to help his children and grandchildren in Vietnam. Without those things, he would not have had much of a will to live.

Sad news

There was a fatal moped crash on Dole Street yesterday, in which a 22-year old man died. I've heard that he was a UHM student. If you knew him or witnessed the accident, please go to the Counseling Center. If you tell them it's urgent, you can get an immediate appointment. Here's their website:

http://manoa.hawaii.edu/counseling/

Counseling and Student Development Center (CSDC)
Queen Liliʻuokalani Center for Student Services
Room 312

Phone: (808) 956-7927

Assisted Living in Hawai'i

http://www.oceansidehawaii.com/home/

http://www.theplazaassistedliving.com/

http://www.holidaytouch.com/our-communities/hawaii-kai

http://arcadia.org/companies/15-craigside/

http://www.kahalanui.com/index3afe.html?page=community

http://www.kiscoseniorliving.com/senior-living/hi/kapolei/ilima-at-leihano/

http://halenohea.com/molokai.html

http://www.regency-pacific.com/senior-living/hi/kailua-kona/regency-at-hualalai/

Blog post prompt for Friday, October 28

Download the pdf and then think about it. Write your blog post about at least one of your choices. This is an end of life directive:

http://www.caringinfo.org/files/public/ad/Hawaii.pdf

Think carefully about your choices and be prepared to talk about them in class.

Atul Gawande

Teaser for Frontline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRkr09ZMI3w

AG with Jon Stewart: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/hz2xb6/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-atul-gawande

"How do we heal medicine?" https://www.ted.com/talks/atul_gawande_how_do_we_heal_medicine?language=en

An Intellectual Friendship

Rochelle Coloma

Blog Post #8

            Throughout my years in elementary school, I did not have much luck in finding friends. I remember moving to a new city and seeing the kids on my street playing with their group of friends or siblings. During the fourth grade, I also remember being partnered up with a girl to teach the “May Day” dance for my class. We began having lunch together and doing the same activities. Since then, we became really good friends and eventually went to the same middle school and high school.

 Out of all my closest friends, I consider our friendship to be different from the rest. I believe it is due to the fact that she has known me the longest and was and still is very understanding when I need to tell her my frustrations or problems. When we were partnered together, we both had strengths in areas that the other might lack in. In one of our final projects, we had to present our chosen poems for our English class. While she focused primarily on the PowerPoint, and I with the research, we struggled in memorizing the long poem we chose. We spent the whole night creating silly cues and hand gestures for us to know all 25 lines. To think back, if I had a different partner, I could not see myself doing the same method my friend and I did as I would feel rather uncomfortable.

My best friend, Rachel, and I are also similar in ways that we are both driven, independent, and come from hard-working families. As we grew older, so did our goals and academic pathways. There was a period of time in our senior year where everything was hectic as college applications and scholarships were coming out. I was often discouraged when I looked for new scholarships knowing that my chances were probably small. Rachel and I were talking after classes one day and asked me how many organizations would I be applying for. I told her two and she had a genuinely shocked face. I reasoned that people like her would likely get the scholarships and so I should not waste my time by applying. She suddenly became serious and told otherwise. She explained to me that my leadership, extra-curricular activities, and job experiences were definitely enough to be a good candidate for scholarships. At that time, I assumed that the high-achieving, smarter, and all-around students would receive every grant or local scholarship.

            For someone that I know who is so smart and tell me of my chances, I trusted Rachel enough to know that she would not lie to me. Throughout that month, I put all my focus on the applications. Having her around was a constant reminder that I had someone always cheering me on and she knew I would be that friend if the roles were somehow to change.  

 At the end, I was awarded enough grants and scholarships for my first year at UH Manoa to be free. Though our experiences as friends may seem purely intellectual, I have gained much more and a lasting friendship.