My Path - Original Poem

A skip down the road,
Strolls through the park,
Frolicking across the meadow.

No matter how I think of my path,
It is no different with variances in
My verbs, nor with my changing nouns.

With every passing day,
Another challenge will come my way.
Some will be easily passed through,
Others will meander deeper into my life.

This does not matter, though.
People can have thoughts against me,
My mind can disapprove of my every turn,
Yet, if my heart is true -

Nothing will take me from this path.

Stay true to your heart,
Enjoy the path with whichever verb
Will get you moving the best.

Be happy with your life,
Find a noun to keep you satisfied;
For life is never easy.

My path seems clear for now,
Let us see what tomorrow will bring,
Shoving obstacles in my way.

I will grow strong,
I will grow happily,
I will grow with my heart being content.

~Alyssa Hellenbrand~

Deep Breaths - When to Stop a Heart (My Original Research Paper)

To live or not to live - that should be a decision no one can make for anyone else. Death should not be in the hands of anyone but the person whose life is in question. When a life no longer has happiness, desire, or motivation; that is when life’s purpose can be in question. Yet, until the full quality of life is practically taken from someone’s grasp, life should be sustained. Euthanasia is possible in animals; euthanizing a human, however, is unthinkable. There are five different ways to classify euthanasia methods: voluntary, non-voluntary, involuntary, active, and passive. Each method has pros and cons, but which is the best? How should euthanasia be performed? Why is euthanasia not a possibility for humans to end their unnecessary suffering, save on medical bill costs, and why did a friend of mine have to see her grandfather suffer when he just wanted to move on?

Euthanasia is when someone is put out of their pain, are no longer forced to suffer, and they are able to be put to rest with the help of a deadly medication. The Greek translation of euthanasia means, “a good death,” does that really sound so bad (Math & Chaturvedi)? Euthanasia should be available to people who are past their breaking point and there is no longer a hope for surviving, no will to keep breathing, and the heart is failing to satisfy their feeling of truly being alive. Animals are able to be euthanized once their owners decide they no longer have a good quality to their life. Yet, euthanasia for humans is a serious concern worldwide in society due to the fact that it can be considered murder. If used inappropriately, yes, euthanasia can be a needless murder of someone who still had a chance.

However, euthanasia can also save the person who is already dying from endless heaps of pain and prevent the ones who love that person from watching needless pain and suffering. It has been stated that, “every person that really suffers unbearably should have the right to end his life” (Kouwenhoven, Raijmakers, Van Delden, Rietjens, Schermer, Van Thiel, & ... Van Der Heide, 2013). “When death is caused upon the request of the suffering person,” this is known as voluntary euthanasia (Diaconescu, 2012). If the person dying can still communicate, then it is their decision to make, but if they are unable to interact and get any kind of message across, their dearest loved ones should be able to decide the path to go down. Then there is non-voluntary euthanasia, “When one ends the life of a person who cannot choose by himself between living and dying” (Diaconescu, 2012). Involuntary euthanasia is the unfortunate method: “When euthanasia is performed on a person who is able to provide informed consent, but does not, because he was not asked” (Diaconescu, 2012). Even though there are people out there that are okay with ending someone’s life without their permission, euthanasia can be used in a pure-hearted way to help others die happily.

Then there is active euthanasia, which is when a “lethal injection” causes the person to take their last deep breath, and their heart stops beating (Diaconescu, 2012). This method allows people to die in a quick manner, and with much less pain than they would have otherwise been forced to cope with. Passive euthanasia may seem like a better alternative to some, but it can cause a great deal of pain; it is when “stopping the treatment [SIC] or stopping the technical medical assistance” causes a person to slowly die (Diaconescu, 2012). Although this method is better to those who have strong religious values against euthanasia, most will see that active euthanasia is the kind-hearted way to go. There is also the concern that there are cases of “organ harvesting” with euthanasia cases (Smith, 2013). Since people can donate their organs after they die, and euthanasia has allowed them to die earlier than they would have otherwise, this can be seen as a form of abuse with euthanasia. However, I see it as if they had died with time: either way, the organs could be used in an organ transplant. Dying, no matter if it is natural or medically advanced, should be the same in every case. Sure, there are different reasons people die, but that never stops organ donations. Organs being taken out is not ‘harvesting,’ it is simply using what the newly deceased will no longer use, and giving it to someone in need.

Medical care, a costly place to venture into; is it not? No matter how wealthy, no matter how poor, when someone has to stay on medicine to survive, that is a very costly experience. Medicine comes with a hefty price, especially when it comes to medicine made to keep someone from leaving this world. Even with countless drugs, therapies, and tests, cures are simply not there for certain health issues. It is sad, do not assume anyone believes otherwise, but euthanasia is a good possibility to consider when the person in that hospital bed is no longer the one keeping themselves alive - it is all about the loved ones not knowing how to let go and the drugs being pumped into their failing system.

The cost of euthanasia is $35, and keeping someone alive with proper health care is estimated to cost around $35,000—$40,000 (A New Zealand Resource for Life Related Issues, 2011). Instead of going into debt, on top of losing a loved one, euthanasia can take away some of the medical bills that were really only there because someone simply couldn’t find the heart to let the person in that hospital bed move on. Saving thousands of dollars is no meager hurdle. Mercy euthanasia– it’s not really a bad thing. When euthanasia is used properly, it is something that can be of great help; the only issue is, how does someone know when it is being used properly?

Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS, is a sad fate to be forced into. When someone has ALS, they lose their own bodily functions and become a prisoner to their own body. The transition is slow, but that may even make it worse. A friend of mine lost her grandfather to ALS, and she has told me that he was basically trapped inside what had become a shell of his own body. No longer did he have control of himself, no longer did he even get to go to the bathroom on his own, and no longer did he enjoy living. He suffered needlessly because the laws stated that his death would be illegal if he were to be euthanized, even though he wanted to be sent to his death sooner than it was naturally planning to come. This man was forced to suffer while my friend and her family could only watch and wait as he slowly continued to spiral downward.
In a similar case, a woman named Sue Rodriquez had ALS; she knew, “that a time would come when her life would no longer be joyful” (Sullivan, 2005). Sue, in this situation, decided, “she would rather die quickly and painlessly,” with euthanasia as her guide to death (Sullivan, 2005). This is precisely how my friend’s grandfather was facing life after his ALS became more advanced and limiting. By means of euthanasia, people with ALS can be given a chance to die with, “dignity and spirit intact” (Sullivan, 2005). Sue was not capable of receiving her timely death then, simply because there were legal issues stating that anyone who assists with euthanasia would end up in prison. “To avoid these legal complications, she would need either to commit suicide [SIC] or to change the law” (Sullivan, 2005). That is what I am trying to get across to other people: euthanasia is not murdering someone, it is giving them a change to die with dignity and with pride.
Euthanasia is scary to think about, but it can be a humane way to let someone end their unnecessary suffering. When no quality, happiness, control, or value is left in someone’s life, they should be allowed to be put to rest. If animals can be given this option, why can a human not get the same chance? Euthanasia can be misused, this is true, but any drug out there can be if the wrong hands get a hold of it. Therefore, in order to save thousands of dollars on medical bills you might not even be capable of paying, to save pain and suffering on a loved one, and to just be humane – euthanasia should be an option. Euthanasia is not the monster it is commonly made out to be. Some diseases are so bad that people are reduced to a shell of who they once were, just like with Lou Gehrig’s disease. In those situations, why can’t euthanasia be an option?  Taking deep breaths and knowing when to stop another person’s heart is never going to be easy, but with our hearts out in front of us, we can let other people’s hearts cease beating.

References

A New Zealand Resource for Life Related Issues (2011). Economic Aspects of Euthanasia. The
Life Information Website. Retrieved from http://www.life.org.nz/euthanasia/  
        euthanasiapoliticalkeyissues/economics/
Diaconescu, A. M. (2012). Euthanasia. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, 4(2),
474+. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Kouwenhoven, P., Raijmakers, N., Van Delden, J., Rietjens, J., Schermer, M., Van Thiel, G., &
... Van Der Heide, A. (2013). Opinions of health care professionals and the public after eight  
        years of euthanasia legislation in the Netherlands: A mixed methods approach. Palliative 
        Medicine, 27(3), 273-280. doi:10.1177/0269216312448507
Math, S., & Chaturvedi, S. K. (2012, December). Euthanasia: Right to life vs right to die. Indian
Journal of Medical Research. pp. 899-902.
Smith, W. J. (2013). MEDICINAL MURDER. First Things: A Monthly Journal Of Religion & 
Public Life, (233), 39-44.
Sullivan, W. F. (2005). Eye of the Heart : Knowing the Human Good in the Euthanasia Debate. 
Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

~Alyssa Hellenbrand~

Soul Hiding - Original Poem

Intentions
Mistakes
A girl without
Her Soul.
Her movements
Are scarce,
Fearful and alone.
Even with another,
Her Soul
Hides in the
Pit of endless
Hell
It is forcing
Her to live.
This girl
Is actually happy,
Content with
Her Life.
Yet, inside Her...
Her Heart is lying,
Forcing her soul
To retreat.
She is happy,
She is fighting,
She is better,
She.
Is.
ME.

~Alyssa Hellenbrand~

The Open Heart - Original Poem

With so many emotions,
Yet so vacant;
With countless feelings,
Yet none to share.
I am a mess, at times
I am an endless confusion.
My inner turmoil is
As vacant as a dark hole,
Yet, as full as a dark hole.
Even while I am full,
I am endlessly empty.
My heart is desperate to
Hide, show itself,
Cower, stand strong.
My open heart,
No!
THE.
Open. Heart.
The open heart is afraid
Of how others will treat it.
How people can hurt it,
Judge it, destroy it.
So the open heart
Is a coward
And numbs the brain.
Thus,
Keeping the open heart
From showing it's full
Capacity, Compassion,
Lavish, Love.
The Open Heart;
It lives inside...
ME.

~Alyssa Hellenbrand~