Death and Life

I think I think more about death than the average Joe. I mean, after all, part of my job is to consider medical conditions that are common or could kill and treat as appropriate depending on the situation. I re-certify  basic life saving (BLS/CPR) every two years. My differentials must take into account anything that could emergently threaten life by significantly affecting brain, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. In PA school, I took classes on the ethics of death and dying, discussed DNRs and living wills, and became intimately familiar with our roles of fighting back the aging process in so many ways - diet, exercise, medicines, and surgeries.

That being said, the past week has been particularly filled with thoughts of death. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not thinking of my death particularly, just death in general.

One of my “life goals” of the past few years has been to observe an autopsy. Morbid, I know. Initially, my interest was probably started by watching shows like Bones and NCIS. Since then, my interest has been fueled by reading books like Beyond the Body Farm, Stiff, and Working Stiff. During my first year of graduate school, our pathologist who lead our small group invited us to watch an autopsy if we wanted.

It’s been four years since then, but last week I was finally able to take a day and observe two different cases. We are sworn to secrecy regarding the cases, but I can say I saw two cases and it was fascinating to compare the two people and think about what their lives must have been like while they were alive. Both were the same gender and both likely died of lifestyle choices and not “old age.” They were both different decades of life and different levels of health - one being relatively healthy and the other showing signs of chronic illness.

It felt like a mix between surgery and anatomy lab. Like surgery, we had to wear a ton of personal protective gear like gloves, gowns, booties, and hats, but it was more like anatomy lab as the organs were dissected out, weighed, examined, and preserved without need to keep someone from bleeding out, having scars, or worrying about risk of infection to the person.

It was intriguing to learn they can run many labs using vitreous fluid from the eye if there is not a way to run it using post-mortem blood. They can check this way for kidney function, sugar levels, and other common tests.

As they walked through the process of examination, cleaning, cutting, removing, and weighing, it was only natural to question what would they find if it were me lying there. The pathologist relayed all the staff think the same thing - if someone was to find your body dead in the woods and without witness or ID and brought it to an autopsy lab, what would be your identifying features? Scars? Tattoos? Implanted devices such as pacemaker or joint replacements? Dental records? It’s so fascinating to think how we all have lived different lives and our bodies reflect our story - our genetics, experiences, and choices.

Last week I also read a novel called Scythe. It’s a story set in the far future in a world where there is no death. It’s not perfect (aka not heaven), but there is no fear of dying from murder, age, illness, or accidents. A separate group called the Scythedom is tasked with killing a certain quota of people per year to prevent overcrowding and the story follows two teenage apprentices to one particular Scythe. The novel brings up all kinds of ethical questions and discussion topics and was a fascinating read.

On the flip side, the past week has also included incredibly happy moments of life. My second niece was born one week ago. Within minutes of her delivery, my sister had hemorrhaged more than half her blood volume and was whisked off to the OR to save her life. After two hospitals, two ORs, and an ICU stay, she was stabilized and transferred to the mother/baby floor for another 48 hours before discharging to home. My mom and I dropped everything and flew out the same day, not knowing if she was going to be alive once we got there. Praise be to God for his kindness, she was. My sister is back home and considered a “normal” post-partum recovering mom at this point. My little niece is perfect and this story turned out to have a good end.

Life is brief in the grand scheme of eternity. Death is but an entrance to perfect, joyous eternal life for those who love Jesus and have accepted his offer of reconciliation.

John 3:16-18, HSCB, "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God."