To the Editor:Re “I Promised My Sister I Would Write About How She Chose to Die,” by Steven Petrow (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 7):I admired Mr. Petrow’s account of losing his sister to cancer and her plan for her own death.
As a culture, we still struggle in coming to terms with the personal suffering of advanced illness and the decision to take whatever control we can of our own lives and deaths.
Jean was living in Tennessee when she finally shared the news, and she came to Vermont for assistance in dying by her own choice.
That allowed us to join her there and say goodbye, while honoring her wish to avoid “having a bunch of people bending over my bed and gushing.”The support she found through hospice nurses and staff eased her last days.
She also showed the kind of strength that Mr. Petrow found in his sister.
Persons:
”, Steven Petrow, Jan, Jean, Petrow
Locations:
Tennessee, Vermont