Caring for Pa | Episode 44

The Art of Dying Well

Send us a text

Understanding the shock, pain, and anxiety that comes after a terminal diagnosis is often best articulated through first-person stories. For the first Art of Dying Well podcast of 2025, we're speaking to Matt Parkes about how he cared for his dad, Jeff, at the end of his life.

Jeff became aware something was seriously wrong health-wise in 2011. Something had changed. Something felt different. He had a number of episodes where he would lose his balance, and eventually he was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare brain condition that causes problems with movement, vision, speech, and swallowing.

Not wanting to 'diminish', Jeff decided he wanted to end his life and was initially actively suicidal. Matt, a Catholic, managed to steer him away from that course of action - with his wife’s loving help - and spent many years as Jeff's primary carer.

This was obviously a very difficult time, but in those final years, there were remarkable, poignant moments of love and reconciliation that never would have experienced had he followed his initial desire to end his life.