Americans are totally immersed in a death-defying, death-denying culture where the final outcome is often delayed by employing futile treatments and heroic measures. A cultural change needs to take place regarding issues surrounding death and dying because, even in the face of advanced medical technology and skilled interventions, every person in existence will die.
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Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a man.
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Funny how you'll plan every aspect of every trip except the most important one you'll ever take.
Several high-profile instances of brain death have entered the public's awareness in recent weeks, including the painstakingly tragic demise of 13-year-old student Jahi McMath. Hence, now is the time to provide some basic education on brain death, and at the same time, scrutinize some commonly-held attitudes regarding the issues surrounding death and dying.
Simply put, the people of the United States are deeply engrossed in a death-defying, death-denying culture. Characteristics of this culture include an attitude of outright denial, the inability to openly discuss the topic of death, and misguided reliance on futile measures in spite of a terminal prognosis. However, the populace of this country was not always bathed in a collective state of denial.
In past times, death resulted in a sorrowful time for individuals whose loved ones succumbed. Dying was visible, expected, natural, out in the open, and an acceptable outcome. Death was a powerful affair that frequently involved the entire family: a person would die at home in the company of loving relatives who paid their final respects. The surviving family members would even give the post mortem care on the death bed.
In the present day, most deaths now take place in hospitals, nursing homes and other types of healthcare facilities. In the span of a few generations, the business of dying has been extricated from the home and conveniently transferred to institutionalized healthcare settings. American society has been doing a remarkable job of removing death from public view in the 21st century. Many people fear what they have not seen, so the invisibility of death makes it frightening in today's society.
The process of dying is a uniquely personal, unavoidable, intricate journey that every individual in existence will make when end of life approaches.
In a nutshell, brain death is the complete and permanent cessation of all brain function. It is important for the general public to understand that once the brain has died it will never, ever regain any function. Brain death is utterly irreversible; therefore, a patient who has been declared 'brain-dead' will not improve because he is dead. Contrary to misleading notions, brain death is not the same as a persistent vegetative state or a comatose state because the patient who is in a coma or PVS has some brain function, whereas the brain-dead patient has absolutely no brain function whatsoever (and never will).
No one has ever recovered from brain death. Ever. A brain-dead body might appear 'alive,' feel warm and appear to be resting, but these effects are the result of warming blankets, a ventilator, and medications to maintain the blood pressure. There is no medical treatment or intervention in existence that can reverse brain death. There is no miracle in existence that will restore cerebral function once a declaration of brain death is made. A brain-dead person is very much dead.
It is imperative that Americans have a national conversation about issues surrounding death and dying to clear up common misconceptions. However, in these bitterly politicized times, I doubt this conversation will take place anytime soon. Furthermore, a change needs to occur regarding our largely unrealistic views on death. Until Americans grasp that death is a natural and acceptable end to the circle of life, there will always be people who do everything humanly and technologically possible to evade the final outcome that every living individual will face.
