Published on: October 29, 2012

Pallium India’s volunteer Ms Sunshine Mugrabi sends us the heartrending story of a man who seems to wish he could choose a gentler death, but has decided to hang on so that he can be legally married before he dies:

Bill Nemitz: In the end, that marriage certificate means a lot

We may not know how you react to this touching story.

Some may think more about the issue of gay marriages or of the legal system. Some would be judgmental, some forgiving (there is not all that much of a difference, perhaps) and some, understanding. Some may latch on to the issue of advance directives and some may start wondering how to get the man to a state of acceptance of “reality”.

We just shed a tear for all those who die without fulfilling a last and overpowering desire for something – to see a loved one again, to have one last meal at home with the family or just to die in one’s own bed at home – just because they are physically helpless because of a disease and because the medical system has taken over their lives and chosen to imprison them in intensive care units.