Last Sunday I sat in St Magnus cathedral in Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Islands. Along both side walls was a series of tombstones with large images of skulls, coffins and hour glasses at the bottom (see above). Many generations sitting in that cathedral have been reminded of their own mortality week by week. While in our time, with the exception of funerals, we don’t tend to talk about our return to the dust of the earth… but I wonder whether we should?
I think it could help people close to death and feeling afraid if we felt able to talk openly about our inevitable end. And if we discussed our death and how we would (ideally) like to die, perhaps we might avoid some of the prolonged suffering resulting from the advances of modern medicine? I decided some time ago that I would sign a DNR (a do not resuscitate order) in due course, but after what I have witnessed in recent years, I would like to expand that to encompass a broader set of eventualities, something along the lines of:
If I have a heart attack: do not resuscitate.
If I catch pneumonia: don’t give me antibiotics.
If I need an operation to be kept alive: don’t operate.
If you need to tie my hands down to stop me pulling at the feeding tube: remove the feeding tube.
I am very aware that many will disagree with me and wish to prolong life for as long as possible at almost any cost, but this isn’t what I want. When I’m ready (which I assume won’t be for some time), I plan to sign my ‘DNR plus’ form and let nature take its course.