End of Life Symposium in Las Vegas

 

Day 2 February 6

Day 2 of End Of Life Symposium:

A lot was covered from 7 an till 5 pm.

Learned about Hospice benefits, Diversity/ Equity/ Inclusion issues, telemedicine Palliative care, Medical Aid in Dying amongst other things. 

A very thought provoking issue : Medical Aid in Dying ( MAID). Everything about it seemed logical, compassionate, justified and ethical. Yet when I searched within, I didn’t find the level of comfort to be one to participate in this. Spoke to the presenter physician after his talk if it ever took a toll on him. He said it was overwhelming at times but he found peace when he told himself that the patient would have died irrespective and this way he suffered less and got to choose his options. 

Made me think about Dnyaaneshwar’s samadhi. True that Dnyaaneshwar was a spiritually awakened individual who had been born to accomplish a great task of bringing forth the message of the Gita to the masses in a way they could grasp. Once his task was completed he willfully left behind the mortal body. He likely used yogic powers if not the simple principles of starvation and dehydration to achieve that goal. 

Also true that the individuals in the present era choosing medically aided death are nowhere close to Dnyaaneshwar in spiritual awakening yet that does not negate their right to mitigate their suffering. Not that I endorse this route and neither would I prefer to adopt those means for myself. I would let my prarabdh take its course till the moment the physical body’s journey ends. But I was able to understand someone who made a different choice from mine. It opened many doors in the mind. Expanded my understanding of the greater universe. Difficult to put it all in words .

Another powerful concept discussed today was codeswitching. This was the very first time I had heard this term. What it refers to is making adjustments to fit into the dominant culture for possible better outcomes. For example using certain accent when speaking or keeping a certain hairstyle or dressing a certain way or following certain customs that you don’t naturally identify with. Turns out lifelong codeswitching has disastrous consequences that often manifest under circumstances towards the end of life. 

During break time another attendee, incidentally also named Madhavi, who I had met the day before, asked me if I wear a saree to work everyday which I affirmed was the case. She told me she thought about me when the topic of codeswitching was being discussed.

The discussion during the lecture had indeed made me think of some personal choices I had made earlier in life as I adapted to life away from the country and culture I was born in. I felt grateful that the realization of what I am comfortable with came to me while I was young and I made a conscious choice to live with that instead of any sort of codeswitching. Like a seed from a fruit on a tree that the wind carried away to a distant land where it germinated on a different landscape but matured into a form that was true to the parent tree. I felt a sense of relief with the thought. 

Besides all this, heard some heart wrenching personal stories from a few speakers today. Parents who lost their only son to neuroblastoma when he was barely 7 and their poor experience with hospice care when they needed it most for their son. A daughter reminiscing how her mother crippled with advanced multiple myeloma took her own life with a gunshot wound to the head when she couldn’t avail of the option to choose medical aided death. 

There was a reception that evening to mix and mingle with attendees. Chatted with Anto Malliakkal who was a co resident with Abhay at Cook County Chicago. Also Nurse Penny and her friend Lisa joined us at the table.

Wore a Bhujodi in bamboo fiber this day but couldn’t take any good pictures except a selfie.