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A review by katherinareads
That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour by Sunita Puri
5.0
‘we were both the death squad and the angels of mercy, sometimes regarded with suspicion and at other times with admiration’
tw: death - i am going to talk quite in depth about it so if you are not comfortable with this, skip this!!
if i were to ask what palliative care is, would you know the answer? it's a subject that some might be well-versed in, while others may not have had the chance to explore. before i delved into this captivating memoir, my knowledge of this branch of medicine was quite limited. at first, like many, i associated it with hospice care, but little did I know that it encompasses so much more.
palliative care doctors are ‘quality-of-life doctors’, meaning they help treat any pain or discomfort terminally ill patients have. however, their role transcends beyond that; these remarkable doctors also act as guides, aiding patients in making crucial end-of-life decisions - "is it beneficial to administer CPR when the body is already frail, or would it be an unnecessary burden?"
to some extent, we all view doctors as miracle workers, those who help prolong life as much as possible. that they should and would use all possible treatments under the sun to cure our ailments. but what if the illness defies all attempts at a cure? when do we make the tough call to let go and let nature take its course?
this read proved some very interesting moral dilemmas with the cases presented. sunita puri, the fearless author who chose to take on this demanding profession, is undoubtedly a formidable woman. the conversations she has with patients are among the most challenging you'll ever encounter.
imagine being in her shoes, having to sit down with a patient's family and explaining that even with feeding tubes and intubation, it won't cure their father's late-stage cancer but only prolong his suffering. how do you convey this message without giving up on the patient? she is doing quite the opposite, actually. it's about prioritizing the patient's comfort and sparing them from further weakening procedures.
as his children, you'd want every measure taken, clinging to the hope of a miraculous recovery.. but sometimes, that miracle simply doesn't materialize, and it's crucial to have these difficult conversations. it's about understanding the patient's wishes and what they truly desire amidst their struggle.
this book really sparked some profound self-reflection for me, realising afterwards that this is an important talk i, at some point, should have with those dear to me. sunita's own account of having such a talk with her parents in the book moved me deeply. she also questioned what she would want herself, and that was an even harder thing to consider.
man, medical memoirs are so interesting but so hard to read. but i love them, they teach me a lot, especially those about dealing with death & dying & the dead.
rating: 5 stars ✨️ (not only was the book interesting but gosh, the writing was beautiful - i annotated so much).
tw: death - i am going to talk quite in depth about it so if you are not comfortable with this, skip this!!
if i were to ask what palliative care is, would you know the answer? it's a subject that some might be well-versed in, while others may not have had the chance to explore. before i delved into this captivating memoir, my knowledge of this branch of medicine was quite limited. at first, like many, i associated it with hospice care, but little did I know that it encompasses so much more.
palliative care doctors are ‘quality-of-life doctors’, meaning they help treat any pain or discomfort terminally ill patients have. however, their role transcends beyond that; these remarkable doctors also act as guides, aiding patients in making crucial end-of-life decisions - "is it beneficial to administer CPR when the body is already frail, or would it be an unnecessary burden?"
to some extent, we all view doctors as miracle workers, those who help prolong life as much as possible. that they should and would use all possible treatments under the sun to cure our ailments. but what if the illness defies all attempts at a cure? when do we make the tough call to let go and let nature take its course?
this read proved some very interesting moral dilemmas with the cases presented. sunita puri, the fearless author who chose to take on this demanding profession, is undoubtedly a formidable woman. the conversations she has with patients are among the most challenging you'll ever encounter.
imagine being in her shoes, having to sit down with a patient's family and explaining that even with feeding tubes and intubation, it won't cure their father's late-stage cancer but only prolong his suffering. how do you convey this message without giving up on the patient? she is doing quite the opposite, actually. it's about prioritizing the patient's comfort and sparing them from further weakening procedures.
as his children, you'd want every measure taken, clinging to the hope of a miraculous recovery.. but sometimes, that miracle simply doesn't materialize, and it's crucial to have these difficult conversations. it's about understanding the patient's wishes and what they truly desire amidst their struggle.
this book really sparked some profound self-reflection for me, realising afterwards that this is an important talk i, at some point, should have with those dear to me. sunita's own account of having such a talk with her parents in the book moved me deeply. she also questioned what she would want herself, and that was an even harder thing to consider.
man, medical memoirs are so interesting but so hard to read. but i love them, they teach me a lot, especially those about dealing with death & dying & the dead.
rating: 5 stars ✨️ (not only was the book interesting but gosh, the writing was beautiful - i annotated so much).