Even the best laid plans of aging can fall apart. Katy Butler’s recent article in The New York Times, What Broke My Father’s Heart, tells a painful tale of the unwanted impact of medical technology in the last and most distressing phase of life (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/magazine/20pacemaker-t.html?pagewanted=1&ref=homepage&src=me).
But this is no ordinary article about a bad outcome involving aging parents. This is a seminal article about a new and quite sobering level of vigilance that attends our role with our aging parents. The rapidity of events and the ever present pressure of “medical necessity” in the last phase of life can push families into decisions they not only regret but, as Ms. Butler so eloquently and heroically portrays, resist our best efforts to unwind them. If there was ever an article on this subject to read in a quiet, non-distracted moment, this is surly the one…