Five Wishes can help voice desires

Dear Dr. Gott: Thank you for the opportunity to give my views on self-assisted suicide, euthanasia and other life control measures. As a retired R.N., I have witnessed the horrors of end-of-life procedures and am determined to make my arrangements for the time that I should die.

Without a doubt, the medical community does not respect the wishes of many of the people who have decided to arrange their deaths; doctors may run roughshod over the family members who are left to make decisions.

I have joined with the “Five Wishes” publication of the Aging with Dignity in Tallahassee, Fla., and actively encourage my peers to consider this document to help them articulate their wishes. These booklets are simple to understand and discuss many aspects some may not have thought of.

This booklet is available from Aging with Dignity, P.O. Box 1662, Tallahassee, FL 32302-1661, www.agingwithdignity.org or 888-5WISHES.

Thank you, Dr. Gott, for this opportunity to express my desire for a peaceful, pain-free death with my family involved in this process.

Dear Reader: I appreciate your sending me a resource for my other readers who wish to learn more about the complex issue of suicide.

Dear Dr. Gott: My father had severe psoriasis on his hands. A few years ago, he and my mother were contemplating a trip to Wales to see family members. But Dad was fearful that the visit would worsen his skin problem. However, his dermatologist assured him that he would be relieved of his psoriasis by the Welsh “moisture in the air by the sea.”

And the doctor was right. Dad has had no psoriasis since. What do you think?

Dear Reader: Perhaps your father didn’t have psoriasis at all; instead, he could have had chronic dry skin on his hands that could have responded to the well-known island humidity in Wales. I say this for three reasons.

First, your dad’s problem was confined to his hands. In my experience, this would be unusual. Psoriasis usually affects the skin of the elbows, knees and scalp.

Second, psoriasis is not a rare disease in humid climates; it occurs all over the world. The fact that the “psoriasis cleared” while he was on the trip suggests to me that the diagnosis should have been in doubt.

Third, he hasn’t had a recurrence in years. This distinctive pattern is not typical for psoriasis — although I will admit that this skin irritation and scaling of unknown cause can unexpectedly vanish for no apparent reason.

Consequently, I won’t endorse a visit to the United Kingdom as a cure for psoriasis. It is, however, a wonderful place to visit for many other reasons.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Eczema and Psoriasis.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.