I am so sorry to hear about your Dad also I too found the whole 'process' to be very similar as you described. Both him and my Grandma who went through a near identical thing a few years later, were essentially left to die once their one treatment option failed. There honestly wasn't even much in the way of minimising their pain or supporting them emotionally. I remember vividly how much my Dad had to go through to even claim disability allowance. He was quite literally dying and he had to fight to prove it for mere pittance to keep a roof over his head. Of course that in itself isn't anything to do with the NHS, but things like this are the broader experience of many terminally ill patients as a whole. Not at all akin to Deborah's. When my Grandma was dying in a hospice she begged me to help her die in the same day that the hospice team were telling us if she didn't die quickly enough she'd have to leave because she was bed blocking.I’m so sorry about your Dad.
I don’t really have anything to say about the rights and wrongs of BB’s behaviour but I’ve been following this thread with interest.
I’m still very broken mentally by the loss of my Dad and the, at times, dehumanising treatment of him by the NHS.
I’m not currently strong enough or energetic enough to do it, but I’d love to try and start a campaign for the NHS to focus as much on the patient (and their loved ones) as human beings and more than just the elements of the disease being treated. Particularly with terminal cancer.
Your post resonated with me because I felt that there was too much clinical detachment at times towards my Dad. A complete unwillingness to involve him or his family in any decisions made. Culminating in writing him off when the only treatment offered failed.
I’m still quite traumatised and guilt ridden by the fact that he was shut in a hospital room for weeks towards the end of his life, with no stimulation between visiting times. Just laying there staring at a wall until we fought to get him home.
I think this plunged him into depression and hastened his decline.
So I strongly feel that the picture painted of the care given in the NHS system is very inaccurate. Not just on BB’s insta posts but in lots of other areas of media too.
I’m glad for Deborah that seemingly all the stops are being pulled out to keep her alive. I hope it succeeds for as long as possible.
I just wish the very best of care was available for everyone.
Again, on a personal level I resent Deborah nothing. I resent what the image of Deborah stands for, which is that money talks and your life is only worth something if you have it. So when Deborah is dancing around, it's people like my Dad and Grandma who are sat watching her wondering why they aren't so important. Of course it's very easy to take things personally and project onto someone who's fault it isn't, but I think it's understandable when people have been through so much and there is such horrendous inequality.
None of us want her to lose any of her opportunities. We just want everyone to be treated the same and because that will never happen, it should be made more clear and a false image shouldn't be allowed to be painted.
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