Standing On His Own Two Feet: A Diary Of Dying PDF
Preview Standing On His Own Two Feet: A Diary Of Dying
I thought I had written the last chapter in tragedy when our son, Jimmy,diedofleukaemiaattheageofeight.Iwaswrong.SueGrant’s moving account of Alex’s illness and death seared through my soul afresh;herwordstransportedmebacktotheroleofhelplessobserver, unable to prevent the suffering and death of yet another young life. What could be crueller than the irony of a body wrecked by the treacheryofitsownmalfunctioningcells?Whatindeed–exceptAlex himself,ashestartedoutonlifewithalltheoptimism,sensitivityand dignityofnewadulthood,onlytobesuddenlyenslavedtoapainful existenceoftotaldependence.Alex’sstorywasoneforwhichcancer itself had already written the last chapter. However, his mother’s beautifulbookisapostscripttocancer,proofthatnotevencancercan destroyAlex’sspirit,ashewalksaheadof usleadingthewayonhis twobluesticks,anindestructiblesymbolofcourageandlove.Shame onushumans,whoinventeverbetterwaystokilleachotherinsteadof poolinghumanresourcesworldwidetofindthecureandprevention of cancer. But we won’t give up, Alex. We won’t. Jane Renouf, journalist and author of Jimmy – No Time to Die, HarperCollins When I started to read Standing On His Own Two Feet, interruptions becameasourceofrealresentment–Ijustwantedtoreadandreadto theend.SueGrantnotonlyhasareal-lifetragedytotell,butshetellsit withsuchlucidityandartistrythatthereaderisdrawnintothestory effortlessly. I found myself entering into the experiences and emotions she describes, the more so because of her honesty, sensitivity and occasionalhumourandarefreshingabsenceofsentimentality.Thisis not only a book from which health care professionals could gain invaluable insights, but one which has the potential to make any reader more fully human. Sister Frances Dominica, founder of Helen House Children’s Hospice, Oxford, and Douglas House, a respice for young adults, Oxford of related interest Attending to the Fact - Staying with Dying Hilary Elfick and David Head Foreword by Andrew Hoy ISBN 1 84310 247 1 Being Mindful, Easing Suffering Reflections on Palliative Care Christopher Johns ISBN 1 84310 212 9 Spirituality, Healing and Medicine Return to the Silence David Aldridge ISBN 1 85302 554 2 Writing My Way Through Cancer Myra Schneider ISBN 1 84310 113 0 Health, the Individual, and Integrated Medicine Revisiting an Aesthetic of Health Care David Aldridge ISBN 1 84310 232 3 Journeys into Palliative Care Roots and Reflections Edited by Christina Mason ISBN 1 84310 030 4 Spirituality in Health Care Contexts Edited by Helen Orchard Foreword by Julia Neuberger ISBN 1 85302 969 6 Standing On His Own Two Feet A Diary of Dying Sue Grant Foreword by David Clark Jessica Kingsley Publishers London and Philadelphia All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use ofthis publication) without the written permission ofthe copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions ofthe Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms ofa licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1T 4LP. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part ofthis publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing ofan unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. The right ofSue Grant to be identified as author ofthis work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This edition first published in 2005 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers 116 Pentonville Road London N1 9JB, UK and 400 Market Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.jkp.com Copyright © Sue Grant 2005 Foreword copyright © David Clark 2005 Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data Grant, Sue, 1954- Standing on his own two feet : a diary ofdying / Sue Grant ; Foreword by David Clark. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-1-84310-368-4 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-84310-368-0 (pbk.) 1. Grant,Alexander--Health.2. Bones--Cancer--Patients--GreatBritain--Biography.3. Ter- minally ill--Great Britain--Biography. I. Title. RC280.B6G735 2005 362.196'99471'0092--dc22 2005001867 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-13: 978 1 84310 368 4 ISBN-10: 1 84310 368 0 ISBN pdfeBook: 1 84642 123 3 Printed and Bound in Great Britain by Athenaeum Press, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear For Alexander with Love Contents Foreword 9 David Clark Prologue 11 Chapter 1. Starting Out 15 Chapter 2. Moving to Independency 28 Chapter 3. Back to Square One 39 Chapter 4. Life in Hospital 50 Chapter 5. Life at Home 62 Chapter 6. A New Leg 72 Chapter 7. Mixed Outlook 84 Chapter 8. Better Days 96 Chapter 9. Happiness 108 Chapter 10. Relapse 121 Chapter 11. Winding Down 131 Chapter 12. The Last Weeks 144 Chapter 13. Saying Goodbye 157 Chapter 14. Bridges 168 USEFUL ORGANIZATIONS 172 RECOMMENDED READING 173
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