The Writing on the Wind’s Wall
Dr. Robert Arntfield, Director of the Critical Care Trauma Centre at Victoria Hospital and a Wortley resident, hadn’t been an early adopter of MAiD, but then his mother was diagnosed with leukemia. “Her prognosis at age 71 was poor and the chemotherapy would have been fairly aggressive. She had seen other people go through that and she didn’t want that level of suffering. She was feeling a great amount of fear about having to undergo any kind of chronic, severe disease process and she pursued MAiD fairly quickly. I heard later from John Donohue’s funeral home. They asked her, ‘Who are you here for?’ She said, ‘Myself.’ When people are given permission to stop fighting, their mood changes for the better. They now feel that they have control over the exit pathway.” Kevin Andrew Heslop, a former Wortley Village resident, currently based in São Paulo, is a multidisciplinary artist. ‘The Writing on the Wind’s Wall: Dialogues about ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ will be available this Fall through The Porcupine’s Quill. Learn more at kevinandrewheslop.com.
Sixteen Londoners, including an ethicist, a psychiatrist, a death doula, a medium and two administering doctors – advocates as well as nuanced and various opponents – discuss their thoughts and experiences with MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) in Kevin Andrew Heslop’s new book, The Writing on the Wind’s Wall. Keith Nethery, Retired Reverend Canon, St. James Westminster, discusses his support of a longtime parisioner. “Carolyn had amyo-
trophic lateral sclerosis and I remember her being a vibrant person who was very active, and I watched, very slowly, over time, her lose all the things that were important to her. The family had already gone to the doctor and had set MAiD up before they asked me to get involved. I don’t think they ever asked me, “Is MAiD right or wrong?” They’d already decided in their faith and spirituality. Really the whole thing was just about being there. I said, ‘I’ll be there.’” “I was there early in the morning. We had communion. We prayed. It was difficult because it was one of the first provisions in Ontario, so everything was being documented and asked three or four times. It felt like the system was trying to get in the road. Shortly after Carolyn died, Dave (her husband) had to go and sit with the coroner for over two hours answering questions. Dave understood. He wanted to be part of MAiD to help others get it. I pray that I was a face of caring in a system that is all about insurance, rules, right and wrong, procedures and process. I remember one of the doctors crying. That gave me hope.”
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Wortley Villager October 2025 • Page 7
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