Melanie Reid is an enormously respected journalist who writes a much-followed piece in The Times every Saturday. ‘Spinal column’ is her weekly set of reflections on life and the wider world – seen from the perspective of a person who is now tetrapelgic following a riding accident. Imagine then, the pleasure of reading her brilliant piece for Saturday 14 March in which she not only addresses the subject of death, but at the same time praises our study of Global Interventions at the end of life and the ideas for a Care Campus that we are trying to develop at Dumfries.
It’s humbling being referred to by Melanie Reid as a ‘new hero’, though my eldest daughter told me she’d always known it! Melanie’s thoughts have resonated with a large number of people who have already visited this blog, left comments and also sent emails of support and encouragement for our work. We thank them all.
We are also extremely grateful to The Times and to Melanie Reid for allowing us to reproduce the article here. Just click on the image below and it becomes fully legible. The article can also be found online at http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/magazine/article4377865.ece
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This article, by Melanie Reid, appeared on Saturday, March 14, in her award-winning weekly Spinal Column, in The Times Magazine. Melanie Reid is tetraplegic after breaking her neck and back in a riding accident in April 2010.
David Clark
melanie Reid directed me to Prof Clark’s web-site on End of Life Studies. As a lifelong disabled person and now retired academic, I wanted to congratulate him and the Wellcome Trust for their innovative work . I am not planning on dying just yet but wholeheartedly believe in the work being done here. If it is possible to receive updates on work/research in progress I would like to be included in your mailing list. I live in East Cheshire.
Thanks for your kind comments here Gill, they are much appreciated. We are receiving a lot of interest in our project as we get going. You might like to take a look at our animation film at – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHHlQI1eg7g&feature=youtu.be It sets out the aims of what we are trying to do.
And do keep reading this blog. It is probably the quickest way to find out what we are doing and what we are thinking! Good wishes David Clark
Hello again Gill, following your comment we have added an option to subscribe to our blog via email.
If you’d like to enter your email address in the box on the homepage, you’ll receive a notification each time we add a new post.
Kind regards,
Catriona
Re Terminal Sedation
As a nurse from the last 1960s, we, and relatives’ families, were thankful for the compassionate intervention of senior medical staff, to allow people who were clearly approaching death, and who expressed that wish, to do so with ease and dignity.