INTERVIEW
life
That's Life
and Death
Someone once said: “Everyone
wants to go to heaven but
no-one wants to die.”
Esther Rantzen would not
accept the first premise as
she is an agnostic. As for the
second, she has a passionate
belief that everyone has the
right to a 'good death'.
The TV journalist and
crusader made that clear when
she visited the 'wonderful' Earl
Mountbatten Hospice before
speaking to several hundred
people in the Medina Theatre,
Newport.
Esther, presenter of the
massively popular, That's
Life, sat centre stage. She
spoke confidently, sometimes
passionately and occasionally
with humour.
She described the last hours
of her father, mother, husband,
'Desy' (Desmond Wilcox) and
her labrador, Arthur, in her
talk, How to Have a Good
Death.
Her father had a heart attack
shortly after his 90th birthday.
Esther recalled: “A consultant
said it would be better if we
did not tell him he was dying.
So I did not say 'goodbye' and
I know my father would have
liked to say 'goodbye'.”
In 2000, 'Desy' was in
intensive care after an aortic
dissection. “He knew he
was dying and we said our
goodbyes. I was on his bed
in his arms and a nurse came
in wanting to do some tests. I
got off the bed so they could
do the unnecessary tests and it
was the last time I held him.”
Her mother was 93 and would
never discuss death. “She chose
to stay in hospital. I brushed
her hair, moistened her lips
and then I read a newspaper.
I looked at her and she was
gone. That was a good death.”
On his last day Arthur had
two breakfasts and went for a
walk before the vet put him to
sleep.
Esther said: “Death is the last
taboo. The thought of our own
death or of someone we love
is too painful to talk about or
plan, when we can”
www.wightfrog.com/islandlife
Above: Esther Rantzen
Important decisions, however,
could be made. People could
plan their funeral and say if
they would prefer to die at
home or in hospital. There
would be time for family and
friends.
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