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Magargle to speak on life, death

Letting go of a loved one is never easy, especially if you are called upon to make a life-ending decision.

Author and speaker Nancy Magargle of Turbotville will talk about making that decision, how it affected her life and the healing she experienced when she speaks on the topic: “Ending Life: When Is It Right?”

She will present the seminar, sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Chaplain Corps from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 21 at Hope Comunity Church, 1520 11th St. Cost is a suggested donation of $25. Registration deadline is Wednesday. To register, send your name, phone number and email address to pachaplains@gmail.com or call 799-0325. Payment will be received at the door.

Darrell Shildt, executive director of the CPACC, said the corps is sponsoring the event because it is a topic everybody might at some point have to address.

Magargle is the author of “A Time to Die, A Time to Live — Making and Moving Beyond End-of-Life Decisions.” She is also a member of Stonecroft Ministries and a chaplain with the CPACC.

In addition to relating her own experiences after her daughter, Stacey, was seriously injured in an automobile accident and put on life support, Magargle will talk about how today’s medical technological advancements have made life-ending decisions difficult.

Sometimes medical technological advancements prolong life and sometimes they prolong the dying process, she said.

“There is a huge difference,” Magargle said.

In her daughter’s situation, she learned that Stacey would have died before reaching the hospital if the accident had happened 10 years earlier. Stacey, who was 18, died a couple of months after the accident which occurred on Aug. 25, 1993.

When a loved one is placed on life support, questions can arise of who is in control.

“Am I, is it God or the doctor?” Magargle said.

After trauma occurs, decisions can be made before the family is even aware of the situation. But those decisions, such as resuscitation which sustains life, are not bad or wrong, she said.

Doctors and medical teams work to treat patients the best they can, but they don’t have all the answers either, Magargle said.

She said family members should prepare questions in advance when working with the medical team and ask for clarification on points they don’t understand. She advised taking notes when talking to medical personnel and visiting websites to further understand a loved one’s condition. She said a family member should be accompanied by an advocate who can also listen to information on the medical status of the patient and ask questions.

Magargle will also address the spiritual side of end-of-life decisions.

She will present biblical ethics grounded in Scripture concerning these situations and dealing with the guilt many loved ones experience, including after losing someone to suicide.

“In suicide, it is not the person who committed the act that deals with the guilt,” she explained.

Magargle said in cases where a family member has had to make a heart-wrenching decision, others can inflict more pain on the survivor through their language or approach to the situation.

“Every case is different,” she said. “It’s easy to judge, but harder to support (the grieving one).”

She said after she and her husband, Ron, eventually made the decision to withdraw life support, she went into a prison of self-punishing guilt.

“I didn’t see how God could ever love me again after having made such an agonizing decision,” she wrote in a press release. “My guilt was compounded by a lack of understanding and support from some in my circles of faith and friends.”

Yet, she said God used her journey to teach her how to let go of the past.

“This journey led me to the very heart of God where I discovered the truth of his unconditional love for me and for all his children. His love opened the prison doors so that I could walk in freedom and joy,” she said.

During the seminar, she will discuss terms associated with end-of-life decisions and what they mean, including euthanasia, assisted suicide, coma, brain death and a persistent vegetative state.

Emphasizing that she is not a lawyer, she will also talk about the different documents available to express end-of-life wishes, such as a living will, advanced directive and medical power of attorney.

Magargle said people are reluctant to talk about end-of-life decisions, yet people face these decisions every day. She said her goal is that those who attend the seminar will seek out even more information for themselves.

“We need to prepare ahead of time to make good, solid choices regarding our last days,” she said.

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