11/1/2018 0 Comments Day 6: Death with Dignity and EMSWe spent our last full day in Washington, D.C. with two community partners. We first met with D.C. Councilmember Cheh’s Director of Communications, Kelly Whittier. Kelly Whittier worked closely with Councilmember Cheh during the drafting and passing of D.C.’s controversial Death with Dignity Act, which legalized physician-assisted suicide by allowing physicians to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients. As we sat around the long table in the conference room, we discussed how the bill was conceived, the legal process behind drafting the bill, and all of the obstacles that the council faced in trying to pass it. The gang at the John A. Wilson building after our discussion with Kelly Whittier Our next stop was with Captain Lacey who works for the D.C. fire and EMS department. Captain Lacey started off as an EMT when she was 22 years old and later went back to school to become a paramedic. With over 20 years of experience in the field, Captain Lacey was able to tell us about her experiences with death and dying. She explained to us the complications in field of dealing with DNRs (Do Not Resuscitate) and Comfort Care Orders (CCO). She also recounted some of her personal experiences. She told us a story of a woman who had approached her recently, shocked that Captain Lacey had not remembered her. It turns out that Captain Lacey had been part of the paramedic team that visited the woman after she had attempted to commit suicide years ago. Captain Lacey sat with the woman in the ambulance and talked through her situation, even going so far as to joining her in prayer. When the two met again the woman joyfully boasted that the conversation had been so transformative and uplifting that she was now married, had a stable job, and even a child. The conversation moved Captain Lacey (and us) to tears. Group picture with Captain Lacey in the bay of one of the fire and EMS units After meeting with our community partners, we decided to eat out for our last meal together. We had heard lots of good things about “The Federalist Pig,” D.C.’s supposed best barbecue restaurant, and decided to give it a try. With the group’s two native Texans serving as our judges, we ordered barbecue sandwiches, ribs, fries, and all kinds of other artery-clogging food. Everybody loved it and was stuck in a food-induced coma shortly after. The only exception was Josue, who inhaled two “Texas Floods” without losing composure. One of Josue’s “Texas Floods” shortly (very shortly) before being gobbled up Our last day together was bitter sweet. While we had a great time learning from our last two community partners and spending time with each other again, we were a bit sad that this would be our last day together. Our trip has been a lot of fun, and we would definitely do it all over again if we could.
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