Sensitive Issues Surrounding Death

Death is the end of life. My first experience with death happened the day before I turned five years old. I was getting ready for school and the phone rung. My mom answered and then began to cry. I was young and did not understand why she was crying. When she calmed down she tried to explain that my babysitter was no longer going to be baby sitting me. I did not begin to understand, until maybe a week or so after her death, I started asking my mom to take me to her house and my mom was telling me I could not go because she was no longer there. I still could not fully comprehend until my next experience with death, which occurred when I was in the eighth grade. Two of my childhood friends were murdered by their step father. It was a strange feeling to know that someone I talked to yesterday I was not going to talk to anymore. Someone told me that death is the physical ending of life only, and that I would always be able to talk to and love the person that was gone. It was the beginning of their spiritual life and that they would never hurt again. Funeral customs are different in every race, religion, nationality, and family. One funeral custom that I experienced was in New Orleans, i went to the funeral with a friend. Her cousin had died. At the funeral people were dancing and music was playing, it looked more like a party rather than a funeral. Before this funeral every funeral I had attended was gloomy and sad feeling. People would stand up say a few kind words about the deceased and cry. My friend explained that it seemed like a party because they were celebrating the life of the deceased person.
Spiritual belief is when you believe in something spiritual like your religion. Everyone has different spiritual beliefs. People believe in God. Some believe in Buddha. My spiritual belief is in God. I believe that once you die your soul is in Heaven upon God's presence
3. Compare and contrast the ways children and adults grieve. What is the impact that chronic and terminal illnesses have on children and adults.
Children used to be considered miniature adults and were expected to act in accordance. It is now understood that children grieve differently. It appears that children grieve shorter than adults, but they actually grieve longer. One difference between grieving adults and grieving children is that intense emotional and behavioral expressions are not continuous in children. Children deal with emotional issues such as believing they caused the death. They worry about who they will live with and they wonder if it is going to happen to them. Adults have similar thoughts but are able to process and problem solve through the grieving stages easier than children.
When I was young my babysitter died. I remember my mother was really upset. My brother was extremely sad. He did not want to go to sleep, because he thought he was never going to wake up like the babysitter. He would wake up in the middle of the night crying, he felt like if he would have stayed the night, she would have never died. My parents tried explaining that there was nothing he could have done to save her. He eventually started understanding that people do not live forever. My brother went through the five stages of grieving, like my mother did. Although they both went through the stages, each one grieved differently.
The impact chronic or terminal illnesses have on adults and children is great. For example, when I was in fourth grade, I joined girl scouts. One of my friends in the troop mother was diagnosed with cancer and was only given six months to live. My friend became very sad and she seemed like she had given up hope. Her grades went from A's and B's to failing grades, she started missing troop meetings. When she did come to a meeting she was quiet and sometimes would cry. Her mother passed away five months after she was diagnosed with cancer. I am not sure what her mother was thinking when she was diagnosed, but I would have been overwhelmed. I do not have children, but as an adult I can imagine the things going through her mind. I would have been overwhelmed with the fact of not knowing what's going to happen to my children, will they be alright, who will care for them, and a lot of other questions. When my mother was diagnosed with diabetes and end stage renal failure, I was 16 years old. My mother became overwhelmed with the thoughts of who was going to care for me and my younger siblings. She knew our father would, but he worked overseas two to three months at a tine to support us. She started making preparations for our well being. During this time she started having anxiety attacks and became depressed she was placed on anti depression medication. She lived 10 years after being diagnosed with diabetes, end stage renal failure, and chronic heart failure, I was twenty-six years old when my mother passed away.
4. Discuss the following medical definitions of: death, euthanasia, the right to die, the living will, DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), and health care proxy.
The medical definition of death is the