This Netflix short film follows a few terminally ill patients in a San Francisco hospital facing end-of-life treatments and conditions. The medical practitioners involved are trying to change perceptions around death and remove the taboo and fears related to dying.
Seeing the ways in which different patients and their families are willing to be open about the situation, or try to avoid confronting it, my heart was breaking for them all. Separate individuals trying to work out the best thing for the patient, making the hardest decisions on their behalf, hoping against hope that a last-ditch treatment will somehow cure someone on the brink of death - it's all too real, and I could feel their hopes and fears.
The medical professionals involved in the treatment and care of these patients are clear in their desire to 'de-medicalise' the process of dying - rather than going to extreme lengths to prolong the very last stages of dying, there is here a move towards letting the process happen naturally, without CPR, long-term ventilation where there is no hope of recovery etc. They are careful to explain to the patients and their families and friends, using clear language, what the true situation is, without offering either false hope or harshness.
We generally think of palliative and hospice care as 'for the dying', but in truth they are more than this. Palliative care can take place over many years from the initial diagnosis of a life-limiting disease - it's about managing pain and other symptoms as well as possible, and aims to optimise the patient's quality of life. Hospice care offers care for the patient and their symptoms, while no longer attempting to cure their illness. Films like this which open up the discussion of end of life care, treatments for terminally ill patients, and the importance of openness and honesty around the conversations are hugely valuable.
This film resonated strongly with me - while my diagnosis is not (yet) terminal, I have had to come to terms with my own mortality, and get used to the idea of talking about death. From all the reading I have done, and the things I have seen and heard, talking about death is helpful for both the patient and for their family and friends. I hope that when the end comes for me I can face it with similar support and honesty.
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