Life and Death (A Tribute)

As smart as we are, we can’t seem to figure out when life begins or ends. Yesterday(post dated) was election day in Georgia so I voted. On the ballot was a proposal asking the state legislature to declare that life, at least in Georgia, begins at inception.

We are also not clear when life ends. Generally we believe life has ended when the heart stops beating and the lungs stop breathing (clinical death). We know certain tissues continue to live and grow, eg. hair, even after death and burial. Being “brain dead” (cessation of brain function) is another way to evaluate if one is alive.

We recently went through this with a dear friend.  His funeral was Monday. He was pronounced dead July 15, but his brain stopped functioning June 30 after an accident with his tracheotomy deprived him of oxygen for several minutes. His heart beat and breathing were restored at the hospital, but his brain was pronounced dead. Eventually the body followed.

I sat with him alone in his hospital room, wondering if he would sit up and say hello or if he was already gone. As a layman, it was impossible to tell. His dear wife and friends just didn’t know. I was praying for his healing but wondering if he was already walking with Christ.

In Seminary, I did my CPE (clinical pastoral education) at the regional hospital in Athens, Ga. as a Chaplain.  For some reason, at that particular hospital, the Chaplains were in charge of death certificates, telling the family when someone has died, and so forth. I noticed the Doctors always tried to get agreement that someone should be pronounced dead: 

“I’m going to call it. Everyone agree? I’m calling it. That’s it. I’m calling it”.

It must be an awesome thing to pronounce someone dead.  (I'm sure it would be a lot of paper work if someone sat up after being pronounced dead by the attending physician.)  Unless they already knew the family, the doctors usually let the Chaplains "handle" the family.   There were small rooms, usually attached to the ICU,  where we held a "conference".  Almost always, someone in the room offered it was "God's will" and someone else left cursing God.

I’ve watched people take their last breath. The lungs totally exhale. The awaited inhale doesn’t come. We are struck with the truth this person’s body is no longer alive as we are. Something has changed.

There is not a shortage of words in the English language.  But there is a shortage of words we know and understand. Death and life are two.