Issues that involve gulity children trying to 'do everything' for their demented and dying parents, in order to compensate for years of detachment. Issues that involve discordance between carers, parents and patients. Issues about patients endangering themselves and their loved ones.

Thankfully, it's not bleak like The House of God; in the last thirty years both doctors and society has become generally more understanding of the now medically controlled end of life passage. But, 'society as a whole' can't account for each individual case, and the phrase itself has an odd detachment to it.

Look, what I'm getting at is that whilst end of life issues creep up you sporadically in everyday non-health life, they sure as eggs jump out at you every single day on the wards. Not surprisingly, the people who deal with it every day know what they're doing, and how to differentiate and nut out the vital differences between patients and their situations.

A month or two ago, the Engage With Grace project was the subject of a 'blogrally' at numerous popular blogs, medical or otherwise. Take the time to answer the five simple questions on the card, and tell someone about it. Tell your kids or your parents, tell your sibilings or your grandkids. Just make sure someone knows. There's no reason to die without someone knowing how you want your end of life care managed.

Death moves in odd ways; sometimes
you might see it a mile off, creeping,
sidling up to someone. First death, taps them
on the shoulder and darts quickly away.
Or, death will tickle their arm, or gut, or lungs and watch them squirm.
Or, death will hang around, wafting over someone's shoulder, cold.
Or, death will slap someone hard. Too hard to live. And they are gone.
Or, death takes half a brain here, a lung there, and we bend and flex.
Or, death's auspices of peace float in the eyes, make the head swim,
and breaths shorten, and mouths suck.
Then breath is no more.
And footsteps rap
round the corner
and away.

.