Cremation

[Havingfun]

choice

Hi all,

It's creamation for me too and I want to be spread somewhere in the woods. I remember when I was a kid and my grandmother died and they had an open casket. All I can remember is seeing her dead in the casket. I am really contemplating the whole memorial service too. Maybe a nice party to celebrate life instead.

Tracy

 

[story1267]

Bam, thanks for this interesting post. I had just gone down this path myself a few months ago wondering what was the most Reduce, Re-use, Recycle way to deal with the bod once I'm done with it.

TeTe is absolutely right about anatomical gifting. You need to be aware of the rules for each thing. Donating your body to a medical school - they want the whole shebang (but donating corneas is ok) PLUS you can't have certain diseases or conditions. Donating to other science - some will allow life saving organ donation but not all. So you want a backup plan. Plus you'll need to agree, actually, to cremation of your "leftovers" not to be gross about it, but, it is what it is.

If you're not squeamish and are truly interested I highly recommend a book called Stiff The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. She really gets into the nitty gritty detail of what happens when we die. Plus she's funny and that's always a plus for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Stiff-Curious...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233972190&sr=8-1

(She also wrote a book, Bonk, about sex research. Also excellent, and funny.)

 

[booboo39]

Autumn,
thank you so much for posting that info. Wow, it has changed since 1963! I wasn't even born then so I wonder where I got the idea from?!?! Good to know.
Booboo

 

[atiman]

Oh boy. I am planning to donate my organs but I didn't realize I had to be cremated. Do you??? I know this sounds really, really, REALLY stupid but what if you can feel yourself being burned? I also don't like the idea of being buried either. I'll feel suffocated. I don't think I'll die...as long as I have Cathe as my trainer.

Then, I guess you're not really dead!

Both my DH and I want to be cremated. I don't like the idea of my body being in the ground for years and years. Also, I feel that if let's say my dh died and was buried somewhere. I would always feel that he was still here. I know I wouldn't be able to move away if I needed to. I would feel guilty. Dead to me means gone from this earth. I don't even want my ashes sitting somehwere in a urn.

I'm an organ donor, too. This use to bother me, because I felt it was kind of gross, but then I realized that I would rather somebody use my parts to extend another person's life.

Correct me if I wrong. Even if you are buried, don't they still take out your organs? I think I remember somebody telling me this. This was another reason I became an organ donor.

 

[kathryn]

Even if you are buried, don't they still take out your organs? I think I remember somebody telling me this. This was another reason I became an organ donor.

Not unless you're an Egyptian Pharoah, and they put them in coptic urns.

I think even when they do autopsies and remove the organs, unless they keep them for some reason (evidence in an investigation), they put them back in before they sew you up.

 

[BAM]

You guys are just the best! Thank you for all of your informed responses. I really don't want a burial so cremation sounds like it would be the most viable option but I still am trying to get beyond the fact that the body gets burned. I believe the soul has moved on and the body is empty so that's not the issue. It's just the fire part. Ouch! I do want to have as many organs donated but is there any other option on what to do with the remains? Also, in the back of my mind, I hope that if I'm in an accident and they're trying to save me, that once it's discovered that I'm donating my organs, they will still do everything humanly possible to keep me alive. I know there are quite a few people out there who feel that all attempts to revive a person may not be exhausted if they are an organ donor. There still are just a couple of issues, like those, that I'd like to overcome.

Suzanne, thanks for recommending that book. I will definitely look into it.

Bam

 

[kathryn]

Also, in the back of my mind, I hope that if I'm in an accident and they're trying to save me, that once it's discovered that I'm donating my organs, they will still do everything humanly possible to keep me alive.

You must have watched "Coma"!

Actually, I had the same thought before I signed my donor permission on the back of my driver's license. There are so many unscrupulous people out there, who knows if we'll come accross a doctor who values the life of some rich patient more than mine? (Hopefully, it's all fiction!)

 

[jgarr44460]

donating to science

I have a deep respect for those who choose to donate their body to science. My son is a physical therapist and as part of his training he had to work on a cadaver. I was relieved and impressed to learn that at his university they were given explicit instructions on the ethics and respect expected of them while working on their cadaver. If anyone is in anyway disrespectful of the dead - even to the point of making a comment on the body itself - they are not allowed to continue and must wait until the next semester to continue the program. This happened to one student in his class.

 

[gettingfitmom]

I don't mean to talk about a morbid subject but it's something that I've been thinking about. I'm considering having all my useable organs donated and then I'm figuring on having the remains cremated. As a nun from junior high stated, "Our body is just an envelope to hold its contents." Cremation would be cheaper than a burial and I'm just thinking this is a practical way to go - for me, that is. Does anyone have any opinions on this? I know there's no right or wrong way. It's most certainly an individual choice and I want to make decisions like this now while I am able.

Thanks.
Bam

Bam, I'm with you on that! I've been to enough viewings to see the stress and heartache it causes people. My father was cremated and we had a nice memorial service later. I would rather remember someone when they were alive than in a casket not looking like themselves. That is IMO. Kay

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

My DH wants his body donated to the U of M medical school. I want my organs and whatever else donated and then cremation. Neither of us want a funeral, just have a big party with friends and family. I actually have a grandmother who is totally freaked out by the idea of cremation and so none of us bring up the topic around her. She never liked the idea and then one day she was at the village post office and the funeral director was there picking up some packages of ashes that had been mailed back to him. That really pushed her over the edge.

 

[story1267]

Don't read if squeamish!

Bam, you're very welcome. I can tell you, from reading Stiff, that there are options other than cremation for whatever's left-over after organ donation BUT they aren't widely available, or available at all in the states.

There's a composting program that has been trying to get going over seas - your remains are flash frozen, ground up, and turned into compost.

And there's another option called tissue digesting that is actually already in use at veterinary schools and other places with a lot of material to handle. Remains are pressure cooked and reduced with lye and the end result is completely neutral and can actually be put down the drain.

I really like the composting program but I don't see it happening here any time soon.

 

[cindi1]

I'm sorry if this offends but, Suzanne - your post reminded me of Soylent Green!

It's People! Soylent Green is People!!!

 

[BAM]

Well Suzanne, you are definitely helping me lean towards cremation, lol! There's some very interesting options out there. I'm wondering if there are areas of land where bodies can be placed as is and then nature would take its course and we would become one with the earth. I just told my mother that for now I'd like my organs donated and the remains cremated. I have to get this done officially but at least I'm putting my wishes out there.

Kathryn, I haven't seen Coma but it's something that I've certainly thought of on several occasions. Maybe I could interview some potential ER docs at my local hospitals so my face is embedded in their mind.........just in case.

Jgarr44460, it's nice to hear how respectful this is handled. I hope that all institutions are as conscious about this as the one where your son received his training.

I know cremation is on the uprise if for financial reasons alone. My cousin had no money to bury her son (very tragic death) so her only option was cremation. People are beginning to plan ahead more now than in the past. Along those lines, I hope they are also taking care of their will so that their wishes are carried through and that no one has to go through guessing what their loved one wanted in addition to the extreme emotional toll and turmoil this takes out on the family.

Bam

 

[story1267]

I'm sorry if this offends but, Suzanne - your post reminded me of Soylent Green!

It's People! Soylent Green is People!!!

Cindi, it's ppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooople! OMG that cracked me up. I always use that to describe things that are too gross to describe so you were spot on!

There are a few natural burial places in the country, not many, and one of the universities does actually have a program where they do just set you out there in a field............