Help or Harm
I promised some details of my camping adventures. Essentially, driving between provinces provided a decent amount of time for deep conversations. One of them went something like this:
Taking one extreme to its completion, treating medical conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes is life-support. While some people have moral/ethical objections to machines that keep people alive, for example in the ICU (respirators to keep you breathing, dialysis machines when your kidneys can’t filter out enough crap, and defibrilators and pacemakers to keep your heart ticking), treatment for less acute illness rarely is questioned these days. However, the goal of any medical treatment is either to prolong life or to improve quality of life.
Quality of life is a whole other discussion that didn’t take place on a road somewhere in Saskatchewan. It was the intervention into length of life that I wished to talk about. I questioned whether or not it was appropriate for myself, as a health care professional, to be so presumptuous as to play god in this manner. Who am I to esteem a long life? Now an answer was not found under the prairie sky that day, but these are the questions and points that still remain:
(1) Whether God causes illness and/or allows illness, presumably it’s all a part of ‘the plan’. (Perhaps the presence or lack of “the plan’s” existence/necessity is worth a discussion in the future.)
(2) Presumably God could/would intervene at any point and allow or disallow a medical intervention to an individual, according to ‘the plan’.
(3) People should use their gifts, talents, abilities and knowledge to do good unto others. (Again, is prolonging life a good thing?)
(4) Is there a line in medical treatment that should not be crossed when it comes to length of life? (How does one treat chronic conditions [heart disease, blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, mental illness, thyroid disease etc] vs acute ones [infection, trauma]? Is there (should there be) a difference when it comes to treating the young vs the old? What if a person choose not to treat a chronic condition and now they end up in hospital with a complication? What about life support?)
I don’t have answers. I don’t know if there should be answers. But an answer would sure be nice.
All I know is that if it wasn’t for incredible medical intervention my boyfriend whom I love dearly would be dead right now. He broke his neck 6 years ago and is a C5-C6 quadriplegic. His quality of life is great, but if it wasn’t for that intervention, I never would have met him! Yeah…you asked some great questions though!
did you help save his life or something angie? That’s pretty cool. I’d have to say that although God answers prayer and it’s GREAT to pray for any kind of healing, God did give people certain knowledge and skill, and I believe he heals people through doctors and nurses some of the time. If it were in God’s plan that a person die at a certain time, I believe it would happen – medicine or no medicine. And if a person is brain-dead but kept alive on life support, they’re not really ‘alive’ anyway, are they? Essentially their soul is gone.
I did not have a hand in saving his life, I just met him in January, but I am so thankful that God’s will for his life was for him to live! He has touched my life in unbelievable ways! He is helped me to not take the little stuff in life for granted.
I have to say that I was just searching blogsites and you caught me in a question, I had to state my opinion, so here goes. God uses all of us in the way that He chooses (as long as we go along with His plan and do not run from it). If you believe in God and believe that where you are is where He wants you then you should do what you can to help others prolong their lives. If your friend was about to be hit by a car, wouldn’t you jump and try to save them…..no different then what you are talking about. You are prolonging life, thus the people’s life that you are making longer have more of a chance to learn about God and teach others about God. We are supposed to ask God to heal us yes, but what about the people who don’t know God yet, don’t they deserve their shot at life so they can have an opportunity to meet God as well. I think so. So there is my opinion.
Angie – It’s great to hear about your boyfriend. I’m always amazed at the stories other people have to tell and the impact they have on our lives. I know I tend to take people for granted – both friends and acquaintainces alike.
Crystal – I’m sure we could get into a whole other discussion about brain death and a person’s soul. Regarding this, I’ve been at a few Catholic events, one at which this issue was touched upon. I found it interesting that many issues that Christians find to be “grey areas” are more black and white for a Catholic due to the Catechism and Pope’s teachings. I know that many times I’d love to have the black and white answer, but at the same time appreciate the discussions that evolve from grey areas.
Kristy – I’m glad you found your way over here, and hope you had a moment or two to explore a bit. I really do appreciate your comments on this post. Although I took an antagonistic point of view, I hoped that it would promote thought and discussion – which it appears to have done.
I think that a lot of what I do during the course of a day, I have to do in faith – in the faith that I am doing something important in God’s work. That what I do directly or indirectly brings people closer to God. So I have to be careful of my motives. And maybe I have to just let go and trust that God really is in control.