Clearly, people didn't want us to talk about death,
显而易见,人们并不希望我们和他们谈论死亡,
or, we thought that.
或者,我们自己如此认为。
So with loads of funding from the Federal Government
所以,在联邦政府和地方卫生部门资金的支持下
and the local Health Service, we introduced a thing
我们在John Hunter医院引入了
at John Hunter called Respecting Patient Choices.
一个名为“尊重病人的选择”的项目
We trained hundreds of people to go to the wards
我们培训了成百上千的工作人员,
and talk to people about the fact that they would die,
派他到病房去告诉别人他们大限将至
and what would they prefer under those circumstances.
然后问他们有什么打算。
They loved it. The families and the patients, they loved it.
此举受到病人和家属的欢迎。
Ninety-eight percent of people really thought
98%的人真的认为
this just should have been normal practice,
这应该成为一种常态化的做法,
and that this is how things should work.
同时,这也是顺应自然的做法。
And when they expressed wishes,
而当这些病人表达他们的意愿的时候,
all of those wishes came true, as it were.
所有这些意愿都可以实现。
We were able to make that happen for them.
我们可以帮他们实行他们的意愿。
But then, when the funding ran out,
然而,当这笔资金用完之后中,
we went back to look six months later,
六个月后我们再来评估这一项目,
and everybody had stopped again,
这一做法又被停止了。
and nobody was having these conversations anymore.
也没有人去进行这方面的谈话了。
So that was really kind of heartbreaking for us,
这是一种很令我们心酸的结局,
because we thought this was going to really take off.
因为我们一直以为,这会成为一种常态化的东西。
The cultural issue had reasserted itself.
文化问题又一次得到了体现。
So here's the pitch:
这就是问题所在。
I think it's important that we don't just get on this freeway
我认为,在我们决定走上去ICU这条路时,
to ICU without thinking hard about whether or not
我们真的要想
that's where we all want to end up,
我们是否真的想死在ICU里,
particularly as we become older and increasingly frail
这点在我们老态龙钟和变得脆弱不堪时尤其重要,
and ICU has less and less and less to offer us.
这时,ICU能为我们做的事情是少之又少的。
There has to be a little side road
如果不去ICU,肯定还有其它的选择的
off there for people who don't want to go on that track.
前提是——你不想死在ICU里。
And I have one small idea,
而对于可能发生的事,我有一个“小”主意
and one big idea about what could happen.
我一个“大”主意
And this is the small idea.
我的小主意是:
The small idea is, let's all of us
让我们所有人
engage more with this in the way that Jason has illustrated.
更多地象Jason所描述的那样。
Why can't we have these kinds of conversations
我们为什么就不能和Jason一样
with our own elders
和我们的长辈
and people who might be approaching this?
或者那些正在慢慢变老的人和Jason一样谈一下这个问题呢?
There are a couple of things you can do.
你可以为此做一些事情。
One of them is, you can,
其中一个是,
just ask this simple question. This question never fails.
你只需问一个简单的问题。这是一个很有用的问题。
"In the event that you became too sick to speak for yourself,
“万一你病得不能讲话了,
who would you like to speak for you?"
你想让谁代你表达你的心声呢?”
That's a really important question to ask people,
这真是一个非常重要的问题,
because giving people the control over who that is
这是因为,给予谁这个权利
produces an amazing outcome.
会给你带来不同的结局。
The second thing you can say is,
你可以说的第二个事情是,
"Have you spoken to that person
“你和哪个人谈过了
about the things that are important to you
你认为对你来说是很重要的事吗
so that we've got a better idea of what it is we can do?"
那样我们就比较清楚我们能为你做些什么。
So that's the little idea.
这就是我的“小”主意。
The big idea, I think, is more political.
我的大主意,我认为更实用。
I think we have to get onto this.
我认为,我们必须做好一件事。
I suggested we should have Occupy Death.
我建议搞一个“占领死亡”运动(Occupy Death)
My wife said, "Yeah, right, sit-ins in the mortuary.
我妻子对我说,“对,对,到太平间去静坐”
Yeah, yeah. Sure."
对,应该的。
So that one didn't really run,
所以,这个行不通,
but I was very struck by this.
但我还是受到一些打击的。
Now, I'm an aging hippie.
现在,我是一个老嬉皮士。
I don't know, I don't think I look like that anymore, but
我不知道,我并不认为我还象一个嬉皮士,但是
I had, two of my kids were born at home in the '80s
在90年代,我的两个小孩都是在家里生产的
when home birth was a big thing, and we baby boomers
那时,在家生小孩是件大事,而我们这帮婴儿潮年代出生的人
are used to taking charge of the situation,
已经习惯了处理这些事,
so if you just replace all these words of birth,
所以,如果你要替换掉这些关于生产的字,
I like "Peace, Love, Natural Death" as an option.
我会选择“和平、爱和自然死亡”
I do think we have to get political
我真的认为,我们必须得面对现实
and start to reclaim this process from
并且重申这一进程
the medicalized model in which it's going.
从我们现行的医疗化模型中解放出来
Now, listen, that sounds like a pitch for euthanasia.
听走来,好像我又在鼓吹安乐死。
I want to make it absolutely crystal clear to you all,
我想向各位澄清一下
I hate euthanasia. I think it's a sideshow.
我讨厌安乐死。我认为那是一个次要的问题。
I don't think euthanasia matters.
我不认为安乐死会有什么好处
I actually think that,
事实上,我认为,
in places like Oregon,
在象Oregon这类地方,
where you can have physician-assisted suicide,
你可以寻求到一些在医生的辅助下的自杀方式,
you take a poisonous dose of stuff,
你可以吃点毒药之类的东西,
only half a percent of people ever do that.
可只有0.5%的人做过这样的蠢事。
I'm more interested in what happens to the 99.5 percent
其实,我对其它的99.5%的
of people who don't want to do that.
不想通过服毒而死去的人感兴趣。
I think most people don't want to be dead,
我想,大多数人都不想死,
but I do think most people want to have some control
但我认为,大多数人都想能够控制
over how their dying process proceeds.
自己死亡的过程。
So I'm an opponent of euthanasia,
所以,我反对安乐死,
but I do think we have to give people back some control.
但我又认为,我们应该给病重的人一些自己控制权。
It deprives euthanasia of its oxygen supply.
这能够让安乐死失去理由。
I think we should be looking at stopping
我认为,我们应该去尝试了解病人
the want for euthanasia,
想要安乐死背后的原因,
not for making it illegal or legal or worrying about it at all.
而不只是让它合法代或非法,或者毫不关心。
This is a quote from Dame Cicely Saunders,
这是Dame Cicely Saunders的一句话,
whom I met when I was a medical student.
我还是一个医学院学生的时候遇过她
She founded the hospice movement.
她创立了护理所运动。
And she said, "You matter because you are,
她说,“你就是你,你是重要的,
and you matter to the last moment of your life."
直到你生命的最后一刻。“
And I firmly believe that
我坚定地相信
that's the message that we have to carry forward.
这是我们应该继续前行的旨意
Thank you.
谢谢