COUNTERPOINT
COUNTERPOINT
The Heatherwood
Takes you There.
Our driver... at
The Heatherwood gets you there. Through rain or
snow our courtesy van gets you where you need to go. Leave your
worries behind and leave the driving to us!
At Heatherwood, we offer a warm, wonderful atmosphere,
and provide all the services our residents need to remain as
active in the community as they wish.
Southfield's host Distinguished
etirement Community Offers:
• Lunch available (7 days per week) - something the others don't o ffer-
• Evening meal provided (7 days per week)
• On site staffing 24 hours a day
• Emergency pull cord in each apartment
• Local transportation for errands & appointments
• Full size apartment with kitchen • Weekly housekeeping & linen service
• Personal care assistance available through on-site health care staff
One & Two Bedroom Apartments Now Available!
For information, call Kathy Ostrowski:
(248
3
22800 Civic Center Drive • Southfield /
sq-LEKTE
Gesmp
&rang wait (-7-04c Oyer 37
Wear&
,pt • Wedding & Party Specialists
L)
9 • Unique Floral Designs For All Occasions
• Balloons • Stuffed Animals • Gourmet Baskets
FLOWtR
MOP I DAILY DELIVERIES
-
DETROIT AND ALL SUBURBS
Commercial Accounts Welcome • All Major Credit Cards Accepted
HOURS:
Mon.-Fri. 9-6
Sat. 9-3
26555 Evergreen • Southfield
in the Travelers Tower Bldg. between Civic Center & 1-696
Call Toll Free i-800-514-997S or 248 3S8 1520
-
-
FASHIONS
ARE FALLING 1\
ONLY AT THE SH RT BOX
The Shirt Box. Shirts And A Whole Lot More.
Always 20% - 35% Off Retail
10/30
1998
HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 9:30-B • Thurs. till 7
Courtyard Center • 32500 Northwestern Hwy. • Farmington Hills, MI 48334 • (248) 851-6770
from page 40
strained love, amid the pain and tears
of terminal illness. Adult children who
see their parents caring for their own
dying parents sometimes see them, for
the first time, as complex individuals
with vulnerabilities and insecurities of
their own. They also see, for the first
time, the depth of their love and their
commitment to family. They are
taught real-life lessons that no amount
of preaching or lecturing can match.
The end of life can be a time to
resolve old hurts, to make amends,
offer forgiveness, bring closure. I
worked with a 51-year-old woman
whose husband had left her 15 years
earlier. Their children were furious
with him. As she lay dying, he asked
permission to visit. With the help of
hospice staff, his children were finally
able to tell him how his actions had
hurt and angered them. And the fami-
ly was able to reconcile.
Often, my job as a hospice chaplain
is to find the seed of something-good
in a miserable situation and make that
seed blossom for the good of the fami-
ly. It isn't always easy. Achieving peace
and understanding often takes a great
deal of emotional effort and time. If
we cut that period short with assisted
suicide, we diminish the human
capacity for compassion.
Many times, when I meet a new
hospice family, the patient expresses a
wish to die, to end his or her suffer-
ing, a wish often echoed by family
members. But after hospice physicians
control the patients' pain and make
them comfortable, they no longer
express a desire to die. Instead, they
want to make the most of the time
they have left. Afterwards, family
members tell us how grateful they are
for those last weeks they had together
But few people know about hos-
pice. Only a fraction of the terminally
ill makes use of hospice services. Peo-
ple don't trust the medical profession,
and rightly so. We still rely too much
on life-prolonging technology, and too
little on providing pain control and
support. Too often, dying patients are
coerced into enduring painful treat-
ments that do nothing to lengthen
improve their quality of life. No won-
der so many support the idea of assist-
ed suicide.
What if we could assure everyone
that they would not die in pain, or
alone, and that their families would be
supported through a terminal illness?
This is the goal we should be working
towards. We don't need to end the sufc
fering by ending the life of the suffer-
e r.
Those who support assisted suicide
say it's an individual choice, which no
one will be forced into. Americans
love the idea of choice. And we all like
to have options that make our lives
easier. But because we have a choice
doesn't mean we always make the right
choice. If a choice is too easy, we tend c3
to overuse it.
Many Jews oppose Proposal B
because they feel assisted suicide is for-
bidden by Jewish law. I still agree with
this position. But my hospice patients
and their families have taught me
there are other reasons to oppose it.
They have shown me the end of life
can provide wonderful opportunities
for healing, love and spiritual growth.
By providing a fast and an easy way
out, we will be losing a great deal. The
choice is not worth the price we
would have to pay ❑
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