Coping With Death Term Paper

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Death

Linda Wertheimer and Robert Siegel extensively interviewed Helen Payne, an 81-year-old woman dying of leukemia, and family members, regarding the process of coping with terminal illness in a loved one. They included observations from Payne's oncologist and hospice nurse as well. Their interview shows a wide range of logical and emotional responses exhibited by family members as Payne's illness progressed, and demonstrated just how complex our reaction to such illness can be.

Wertheimer and Siegel are presumably competent radio reporters. Their article was organized around open-ended questions they put to Helen Payne, one of her granddaughters, and medical experts. The result is a compelling narrative reflecting how families handle the complex emotions that occur when a loved one faces death. Family members demonstrated both logical and emotional responses to Payne's situation, although Payne herself accepted the doctor's diagnosis with poise and dignity. Since this article was not research, including medical experts balanced personal opinion with scientific fact. It would be difficult to directly research this topic due to the sensitivity, and analysis of interviews rather than questionnaires might be most effective since people's reactions were not always logical.


RESPONSE:

Wertheimer and Siegel presented a sensitive portrait of a family during a time of impending loss. By use of their open-ended questions, they allowed the respondents to give full and detailed responses that give the reader a sense of who these people were. It was easy to understand the magnitude of this family's loss when Helen Payne eventually did die. Information was provided about the family in the authors' narratives, but they refrained from interpreting the Payne family's experience, which was appropriate for this type of interview.

In the interview, the interviewers elicited frank discussions from family members about how they responded. For instance, Glenda Crabbe, Payne's granddaughter, responded in both logical and illogical ways. While Payne herself accepted the fact that she was going to die even though she could….....

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/coping-death-65053