[ExI] wheelchair driving drunk

spike spike66 at att.net
Sat Dec 28 20:52:22 UTC 2013



-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of BillK
Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2013 12:27 PM
To: ExI chat list
Subject: Re: [ExI] wheelchair driving drunk

On Sat, Dec 28, 2013 at 7:38 PM, spike wrote:
>> ...  So you enjoy the comforts of alcohol all your life, but 
> right at the end when you really could use some chemical comfort, it 
> isn't available.  Does that sound right to you?  Doesn't to me either...
>
>

>...Spike, the docs will never accept alcohol transfusions for these
patients...

Oy, I was afraid of that: I didn't explain it right.  I didn't mean
transfusions or needles.  I meant the device would introduce alcohol into a
drinking tube, so the patient is still drinking.  It would vary the alcohol
content of the water stream, going to zero if the patient's BAC is around
.18 and up to about perhaps 10% for stone sober patients.  It would have to
be turned on to deliver any alcohol, by the patient.  Under these
circumstances, it seems a nursing home staffer could legally enable the
system without needing a doctor's supervision, but only for those three
feels-good chemicals, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol.


>...They have drugs to treat pain and depression and anxiety...

Ja, but these need a doctor's supervision which is costly and scarce.  And
the medications themselves are expensive.  The three stooges are cheap,
non-prescription, over the counter, well understood, and most of us have
used or do use two or all three.  You had your coffee today, ja?  I am on my
sixth cup.

>... Patients should not be allowed to be in pain...

Thanks for that BillK.  I can show you plenty of examples today, in real
time, of patients who are in a lot of pain every day, with no hope of
recovery ever, who have nada to lose, who could be comforted simply,
legally, cheaply, if we would get off our goddam asses and do it.  What are
we waiting for?  You and I will be in that situation in a few decades or
sooner.  What if we get there perhaps against our will, and these systems
STILL don't exist?  And even sooner than that, what about our parents?  They
comforted us when we were infants; don't we owe them this?

>...though if they are unable to communicate, it can be difficult to treat
them appropriately...

Ja.  Some of them can communicate by operating a switch that would enable
the device to introduce alcohol into the drinking tube.

>... As one cancer doctor said to me, when we are considering pain relief as
part of end-of-life care, then drug addiction is not a problem. Pain can
always be relieved...BillK
_______________________________________________

OK good, you and I are on the same page.  Where do we start?  Have we any
geriatrics docs who are willing to experiment?  spike 




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