Category: Death

Haiti Six Months Later

July 4th, 2010 · Dr. Brian Byrd · Death, Spirituality Comments Off

I believe the Haiti earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010.  So we are approaching the 6 month mark.  From the Antioch Community Church reports, I know that the relief efforts have shifted from medical to rebuilding.

I had the privilege of being a relief worker one week after the earthquake.  I was part of a medical team that included two other doctors, a physician assistant, some nurses and a bunch wonderful non-medical folks who did the organizing and back-breaking work to pull-off a mission like that.

Overall, the trip was a blending of awfulness and intermittent expressions of goodness.  I learned quite a bit about the human spirit, about Haiti, and about disaster medical care.  Most importantly I learned that God doesn’t abandon those who are hurting:

  • I saw teams of medical workers from all over the world.  Signs of relief aid were everywhere.
  • I saw people who had lost close family members break into broad smiles after I patched up their injuries and prayed with them.
  • I witnessed a miraculous coordination of resources that saved a 15-year old girl’s life.
  • I saw several young men who found meaning and purpose after they joined our team as translators.  They are now in training as church planters.

From Habakkuk, a paraphrase: “Though there be no food in the fields, and the flock cut off from the fold, yet I will exult in the Lord.  He has made my feet like hinds feet, and He makes me walk on my high places.”

I have more stories about my experience posted at BrianinHaiti.blogspot.com.

Though here in America our systems are much better, there are still so many, even in our Tarrant County communities, who are hurting and suffering.  If you are reading this blog, you may be going through the difficulty of watching a loved slowly die.  Or maybe you recently lost a close family member.

Let me invite you to join us this Wednesday evening, July 7, for some wonderful food, and a group discussion on losing a loved one.  Chaplain Mike Shreve will coordinate the meeting.   You can reach him at mshreve@texashospice.com, or 817-263-8808 to rsvp.

We will meet from 6-8 PM at the Culinary School of Fort Worth on Camp Bowie Blvd.  Don’t miss a chance to get the help from people who are co-sufferers, and from two chaplains whose hearts are with you.

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What about death panels?

June 15th, 2010 · Dr. Brian Byrd · Death Comments Off

H.R. 3200 Section 1233 introduced by Oregon Representative Earl Blumenauer last year would reimburse physicians for holding end-of-life discussions with their patients.  I have mentioned it only briefly in this blog, and I want to communicate a few thoughts about it.

First, the conservative labeling of the bill as creating “death panels” is misleading.  I don’t see any language that sets up uninvolved bureaucrat teams to decide whether or not a person qualifies for treatment.  It is good for those of us in the watching public to differentiate political speak from reality.

Second, I don’t think the bill, if passed, would affect how physicians approach end-of-life conversations.  Some doctors like these discussions, feel they are important, and do a nice job.  Most physicians are uncomfortable with the subject and don’t want to spend 30-45 minutes talking a patient and family through realities and options.  Adding pay incentive won’t change physician activity.  Those that do it already will continue.  Those that don’t will not view earning $55 to hold these discussions as worth it.  They could easily see 3-5 other patients in the same time period and receive more.

Third, it is troublesome to me that the bill came out of the state that first legalized physician-assisted suicide.  What an awful practice.  What a debasing of human value and dignity.  What a robbing of courage.  Is this the adequate moral background to write a bill on end-of-life physician-patient discussions?

I say a big “no.”  Within these discussions are opposing influences:  the physician must balance providing the best care with the insurance companies’ financial incentives to physicians who limit treatment access to dying patients.

We are treading within dangerous land, and losing our way will bring disastrous results.  We shouldn’t follow the instructions of those who are already lost.

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