Faith and rights intersect at end of life

Nov. 2008, The Herald

By Krista Kapralos

In the debate over physician-assisted suicide, there are two clear arguments.

One is: Life is sacred, and the divine timing of death should not be tampered with.

The other is: Life is sacred, and the decision of how to spend one’s final moments is personal.

The debate would have been unthinkable for past generations, whose doctors could do little to stave off life’s final certainty.

Now, modern medicine is powerful enough to stretch life’s last moments into days, weeks, even months or years. But when should someone say, “Enough”?

When is it OK to die? Read more

The cost of dying

Oct. 2008, The Herald

By Krista Kapralos

Beth Chowen beat a brain tumor last year.

Doctors found it in June, and by the end of summer, the 64-year-old Everett preschool owner was back on her feet, ready to begin her retirement years.

In November, the tumor was back again. It worked like a thief, quietly and quickly, and within months it had robbed Beth Chowen of her ability to move, to live in her own home, even to speak.

At first, Medicare paid for everything, her husband, Terrence Chowen, said. Doctors said there was nothing more they could do. Medicare pulled out, he said.

“Medicare would only cover it if you were recuperating or while there’s hope that you might recuperate,” Chowen said. Read more

Under the table: The state’s hidden Hispanic workforce

Jan. 2008, The Herald

By Krista Kapralos

They show up seven days a week, sometimes as early as 6 a.m. Some carry backpacks, but most just have thick coats, their hands shoved deep into pockets.

For hours, they wait, hoping. As daylight emerges and cars begin to stream in and out of the Home Depot parking lot on Highway 99 in south Everett, they crane their necks, eagle-eyed for the wide rigs that usually signal the arrival of contractors who need laborers.

“We want to do something right, work for at least five or six hours a day, at least,” said Jose Lara, a 36-year-old Mexican immigrant who took two buses from his home in Seattle to get to the hardware store’s parking lot.

Every day, sometimes as many as 20 Hispanic men gather there. When contractors drive by, some men get jobs right away. They hop into the back of a truck and hope that their pay will amount to more than $8 an hour. Sometimes, they can make $11 or $12 an hour, but for backbreaking work, they say it’s not enough. Read more