Well done, Victoria!

After a rumoured 100 hours of debate, both Houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, have now adopted an End-of-Life Choice Bill to come into effect by 2019.

That's a huge result for this part of the world. Now we need to see how the David Seymour bill will go in the next Parliamentary term in New Zealand.

However, it is depressing to see the amount of discussion that this issue evokes. Even more depressing is that there is nothing new to be said. At a public meeting with our local electorate MP recently, I heard him trot out one or two of the risks associated with this kind of legislation as though they had never been considered. The meeting was Grey Power oldies and they didn't take too kindly to his naive and ill-informed comments.

But there was progress. A few months ago, he had declared on national TV that he hadn't made up his mind. At this meeting, when asked, he said that he had reached a point of view. As a lifelong Catholic, he was now personally against any form of shortening life. But, he said, he would "poll" his electorate when the Parliamentary vote was coming up and he would vote , not according to his conscience, but in the direction indicated by his constituents.

Funnily enough, that's exactly what every one of half a dozen candidates for Parliament said when asked for their personal views a few months ago by the same Grey Power members. But not one candidate described how they would organise this "poll". None assured us such a poll would be properly managed by a reputable profession firm. None even thought to mention that their poll would not be limited to members of their own party, or their own church or other easily accessible group. Sounds like a cop-out to me...

I'm pleased that our MP has now reached a point of conviction he can own up to in public. I don't share his view but I respect it. I certainly won't seek an audience with him to try to change his views.  And, personally, I would be happy for him to vote according to his conscience and not according to some mish-mash of a poll that might or might not represent the wide range of public opinion in any electorate.

I just want to see some action in response to the declared wishes of the vast majority of the population over several professionally managed opinion polls over a decade or more. Let's get on with the vote.

A Literary Adventure with Parkinson's Disease?

Some time ago I made a commitment that I would not start another major project that might put me under pressure to finish before my Use By date was up. However, my Oncologist's challenge to do something worthwhile if I could enjoy another year of good quality of life has, in part, dropped me into another fairly large project.

One of our Village residents has recently prepared a substantial paper on a self-help regime that she and her husband worked on after his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. They have experienced some remarkable developments and she has recorded their story in considerable detail. Her draft has received some significant commendations from professional people in the field. She has now come to me for some suggestions about how her story could be told.

We're first going to spend a little looking at what she's written and how it might be re-shaped to help other couples experiencing this condition. Certainly, my interest has been piqued. One can't help but be inspired by her passion. It looks as if we are going to be travelling an interesting road over the next few weeks.

On the bus this morning

This morning I took a free bus ride to Orewa to return a library book (Anne Salmond’s “Tears of Rangi”, an amazing and powerful account of “experiments across worlds” in our tentative bicultural journey in this country). To take the car would cost about 90c in electricity and that seemed extravagant and unnecessary.

Waiting at the bus stop for the return trip, two of us were extravagantly blessed by a long-haired, bearded, barefoot, not very kempt fellow, who from three metres away wished us a very cordial and enthusiastic good day “following in the steps of Jesus”. When he came by again I asked him to what part of the various flocks of Jesus did he belong. “Oh, just the Jesus Way”, he said. Now, as a progressive Christian, I should have been satisfied enough to hear that.

But I still followed him onto the bus and sat beside him, leaving about 42 seats for the other three passengers. I invited him to talk a little more about his faith and way of life but there was nothing forthcoming. I ventured a few thoughts of my own but he remained non-committal. I introduced myself as a retired minister but on reflection I guess that was never likely to help.

I don’t know what I expected. But I guess I hoped he had something more to share than just the passing catchphrase, no matter how elegant...

The CaPros Report

Just back from Medical Oncology. My PSA is down slightly from 57 to 43 which still seems pretty high to me. We are continuing on Abiraterone and half a dozen other things. Now we're adding in some medication for severe back pain the last six days - this is occurring in the right place but it may or may not be cancer-related. If not it will clear up in a few days... Nothing seriously depressing in all that, for which we continue to be grateful.

Afterwards we had a pleasant drive out to the airport for some free car electricity, some shopping, a trip through the Waterview Tunnel and some country driving back to home.

Another "flag" Referendum?

I understand the challenges facing the parliamentarians who have cobbled together enough agreed policies to hold the government coalition together. But I am dismayed that among these compromises is the possibility that we might have a referendum on End of Life Choice. This must be seen as nothing more than a delaying tactic. It will provide no dramatically new information at all.
    
Of course, polls are never precise predictors of a formal vote, but the last few polls on the issue have received support of up to 75% in favour of some change in the law. The poll running on Stuff this morning is 78% in favour. There's not much doubt about what the majority of NZ voters would like. Indeed, many of them would go much further than the proposed Bill.

Join the poll here.

I am gratified that the House will at least discuss the merits of the Referendum before proceeding. And it's good that the Referendum decision itself can be a conscience vote. Perhaps wisdom may prevail. Members on both sides of the issue will have the memory of $27 million spent on a flag referendum that came to nothing.

Just get on with the David Seymour Bill that is already on the table.

Action in Victoria!

It was exciting to hear recently that the Lower House of the Parliament of Victoria, has passed their Voluntary Assisted Dying by 47 votes to 37. Their bill must be approved by the Upper House so it has some distance to go. But this is a great step forward,  originating from the work of a Committee that was set up about the same as NZ's, a couple of years ago.
It's going to be a slower process in this country but at least the David Seymour Bill is on the Table and must be considered, probably next year. The big question for us will be, will it be referred to the Health Committee that spent so long hearing submissions that were unsuccessful in challenging their obvious prejudices, or can it go to a different Committee this time?
Apparently that's is a possibility. But either way, it looks like another substantial round of submissions lies ahead ... Well, I'm ready!

Bits and Pieces

Since Vodafone disinherited my long-standing email address this blogger has been struggling to get on line again...

Meanwhile, we had a great two weeks away with family in Upper Hutt and Blenheim and enjoyed World of Wearable Art in Wellington. Since we got home the TV has blown up and we have let the Forester go and are settling down to life with the five year old Nissan Leaf which is a great pleasure to drive as well as a useful contribution to the environment - and, let's face it, extravagantly cheap to run.

I've had another monthly test result and my PSA is steady at 57 or so and I am having no major side effects with Abiraterone so it seems to be doing what it is supposed to. Off to Med Onc again in a few days... Nothing is forever, but for now, our quality of life is pretty good and I am applying myself to some useful projects - helping one of our residents to get access to an online audience about her remarkable experience with treating Parkinson's Disease... tidying up an inventory of stuff owned (or thought to be owned!) by our Residents' Committee... planning more writing on End of Life Choice - now that a new Parliament is (almost!) in place and David Seymour's Bill will have its first reading next year...

I see my post of 12 September was a bit critical of Simon "Turkey" O'Connor and the report of his earnest but fatally flawed Parliamentary Health Committee. To not make a distinction between suicide and voluntary euthanasia is unbelievable. What a waste of time and effort. I was very gentle compared with what some others are saying about O'Connor - one person even suggested this lack of intellectual integrity presages the end of his parliamentary career. However, it does not necessarily follow that his Committee will be designated to consider the Bill if it passes the first reading. One would hope for a better, fairer hearing next time - even we all have to do make our submissions again.

"Turkey" O'Connor strikes again!

So "Turkey" O'Connor has struck again...
It was appalling that he did not stand aside as Chair of the Parliamentary Health Committee on End of Life Choice a couple of years ago - he forfeited his moral right to head up the investigation when he made a public statement of his personal point of view. It was worse when he urged Catholics to send in "submissions" favouring his point of view. It was pretty bad when his Committee produced a mealy-mouthed report that did not really move the issue in either direction. And his public statement after the Committee finished its work was a masterpiece of subterfuge and misstatement.
Now he has revealed that after listening to some 1800 personally presented submissions he still doesn't understand the distinction between end of life choice for terminally ill aged people and the desperate plight of physically well people who feel that suicide is their only choice.
When I first criticised O'Connor for maintaining that it was OK to publicly promote a point of view at the same time as presiding over an investigation into the issue one of my readers observed that it was like asking a turkey to preside over a committee discussing the future of Thanksgiving.
Well, to mix a metaphor, the turkey hasn't changed its spots

Electric Gridlock

One of the amazing characteristics of Electric Vehicles has already made itself known in our household. It's not the limitations of range - it's the astonishingly cheap cost of running.
We've clocked up 1000 kilometres in a month - mainly because an overnight charge which adds three or so dollars to our power bill will give us an all-day outing all over the gorgeous hinterland beyond our suburb. And we've done that almost every fine day.
We took a couple of friends on a bit of a short trip around the local suburbs and realised that 12 kms added up to just over ten cents each. We've shown the car off quite a lot and there's enormous interest.
Indeed, one of our neighbours who had a quick introduction to electric motoring in our Leaf has just come home today with his very own BMW, a beautiful, large but very compact vehicle.
Only now have I realised that if a large proportion of the motoring public discovers how much cheaper an EV is to run than an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine to you!) Auckland's gridlock can only get appallingly worse. Why would you bother with a bus when the cost of driving your EV may be actually less than the busfare?
Perhaps we had better promote EVs a little more cautiously.
But it's a lovely way to go....

The MCRPC report

   Drove the Electric Blue over to Medical Oncology at Greenlane today. Quite a big trip for all three of us, but a short fast charge and a hamburger at McDonalds set us all up for a lengthy, leisurely return home via Sylvia Park shopping centre and then along the best waterfront drive in the world on a really gorgeous day.
   Once again, we are amazed at the professionalism of the consultants we meet. Their blend of technical competence and personal empathy impresses us every time. This one had done her homework thoroughly: she was even aware of my struggles with my conscience over the decision to go onto Abiraterone and she had a printed copy of notes I optimistically emailed to the staff secretary only last night.
   We had a really helpful conversation as she went over my few concerns and we discussed changes in a couple of meds. We are going try a different steroid instead of Prednisol and she has agreed to my suggestion that we reduce the amount of anti-depressant we use to control the incessant hot flushes that were so much a part of my life up until a couple of years ago. There's no way I would want to return to that lifestyle but Venlafaxine  seems to be bringing some other unwanted side effects.
   For the first time in fifteen years my weight is down a little, with no apparent explanation. Most of the meds would be more likely to add weight than take it off. But my PSA is pretty stable at 56, though that is also just about as high as it has ever been.
   However, if we made the decision on Abiraterone for the sake of quality of life there's no absolutely doubt that that objective has been achieved. It's being a terrific year.