RIP, GG sir

Having seen what my mother went through due to lung cancer, I would seriously consider taking Kevin's way if I had some form of cancer.

RIP Kevin.

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RIP Kevin - you were special.
_
I wish people would’ve listened to my earlier advice.

There is definitely a conversation based on each circumstance. My perspective is based almost solely on my mom’s final days. Laying next to her alongside my sister and father and watching her comatose body fighting for breath (even w constant oxygen) as if someone was choking her was brutal.

I love my Mom with all my heart but I kept wishing each tortuous breath was her last.

I will not cast a stone at anyone who is near the end of a terminal illness wishing to go peacefully, much less imply they are cowardly.

Sometimes it’s best to just stay quiet.

I hope the WSOP honour his memory next summer.

Peace and comfort my friend.

The dignity and the complete lack of a why-me vibe he shows is really amazing. I don't think I could be nearly that collected in his spot. Just seems like an incredibly genuine guy with a pure heart. RIP

The guy wanted to play the Main before he dies and did.

Come on!

It's on par with hitting a 300 yard down the middle and pulling your cart up to the ball and having a massive heart attack and dying.

Mad respect. Mad props

You are going out the way you want to go out. Catch you at the tables on the other side.

Save us some spots brother. Lots of people here will be right there with you soon!

Played with him at Rio 5-T a couple times over the summer. Good man, good player, fun to play with. We had a lot of laughs and when I think about him I remember how lucky some of us are to be able to play this game full time and play in the main event every year. Something that’s easy to take for granted but is another person’s dying wish. RIP Kevin and my thoughts go out to his family.

RIP

GG Kevin, glad you were able to go on your own terms and not suffer anymore thru this. Was great to see the poker community rally around him and also bring awareness to sarcoma cancer.

I don't know anything specific about Kevin's prognosis, but the survival rate for metastatic sarcoma is 16%, not 5%. So that would equate to a 1:7 chance of surviving, not the 1:20 chance that your 95% would indicate.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer two years ago with tumors in my mediastinum and 3 of the 4 chambers in my heart. None of my doctors thought I was going to survive (although they didn't tell me that at the time), and entering the third month of chemotherapy, I was ready to call it quits. And most likely would have if I had known what the doctors were saying to each other.

I'm not suggesting that Kevin shouldn't avail himself of his right to end his suffering, only that others shouldn't presume to put themselves in his position and think they know what is right or wrong.

I lived alone with and watched my Diabetic father go from driving when I was 4, to blind when I was 5, to one leg when I was 6, to kidney dialysis when I was 10, to no legs when I was 15, to 4 fingers when I was 17, to resisting end-of-life morphine dosages when the doctor finally informed us that 1 arm would be "inhumane." I was 20 then, and will never get over all that mess b/c I'm in my mid-40s now and it still gets me with the nightmares -- typically with something happening to my father health-wise and me needing to make some pressing, on-the-spot decision to either gag him with a straw and pour-in glucose, tell some n00b paramedic that he's not "dead," etc.

Growing up as a 5+ year old with outright care-giving mandate on insulin measurements/injections, blood pressure measurements, finger-pricking, balancing the checkbook, directly instructing emergency services on how to treat my father when he would go into insulin shock, spending days at a time in hospitals, having a fridge loaded with cases of rootbeer soda and chocolates, having 100% freedom to make ALL decisions regarding school and playtime, signing my father's name to his will when I was 6, getting specialized treatment/attention in a small town public school b/c people had more time to dedicate to understanding the circumstances back then... all that was great. Sometimes even "fun" or a "learning experience."

But what wasn't great was my own inadequacy to remedy the situation as my father's condition progressed. I still remember that exact moment I realized when my ability to provide care had decreased. I was 15 and he came home after 3 months' Hyperbaric treatment that still ended with him losing his other leg. (I got served a $4 million hospital bill at school for it when I was 15.)

He got sick a few days after coming home (we lived in gov't housing), and in the past I would've known exactly how to remedy this, whether I needed to call an ambulance, a relative who had a car, etc. But he just told me to hold the trash can while he threw up, and that's when I finally knew the beginning of the end had arrived. But even then, it was a huge shock to me when he passed, and he had lasted until I was 20 by then.

One of the things I've sworn to myself is that I'll never put my kids through that responsibility if my health were to ever go downhill.

My sincere condolences to Kevin's family, friends and loved ones. While the circumstances that led to Kevin's decision make me very sad, there is some comfort in the fact that Kevin is no longer suffering, just as there's some comfort for me personally that my father's suffering ended long ago.

-David

The American Association of Suicidology, the nation’s leading suicide prevention organization, has concluded that medical aid in dying is distinct from suicide. AAS states that, “Although there may be overlap between the two categories, legal physician-assisted deaths should not be considered to be cases of suicide.” AAS cites numerous differences between medical aid in dying and suicide, including:

• In medical aid in dying, patients already have a terminal illness and will die within six months. In suicide, a life that would have continued indefinitely is cut short.

• With medical aid in dying, patients typically die surrounded by family in the comfort of home. In suicide, individuals typically die alone and in despair.

• In medical aid in dying, the terminally ill patient does not want to die but is already facing a terminal illness. In contrast, suicide results from unrelenting psychological pain and despair. The person cannot enjoy life and sees no prospect for future happiness.

• In medical aid in dying, the terminally ill patient often experiences “intensified emotional bonds with loved ones and a sense of deepened meaning as life is coming to an end.” With suicide, “The individual typically suffers from a sense of isolation, loneliness and loss of meaning.”

• Medical aid in dying offers a peaceful, nonviolent, nondisfiguring form of death. Suicide involves physical self-violence, often resulting in painful death.

• Deaths from medical aid in dying are not impulsive; the many safeguards incorporated in medical aid-in-dying statutes ensure that decisions are well-considered. Suicide decisions are often made during periods of high stress and may be reached shortly before the fatal act.

• Terminally ill patients using medical aid in dying have been certified by two physicians to be mentally capable. Suicide, by contrast, is frequently performed by individuals with mental illness.

• In medical aid in dying, bereavement among family members is less severe than from other deaths. In suicide, family members experience higher rates of complicated grief and PTSD.

• In medical aid in dying, the traditional “warning signs” of suicide do not apply. Risk factors for suicide include childhood trauma, recent divorce, addiction, etc.

May you find relief sir. RIP

Jesus, people, I was just trying to be a little circumspect in my language, in respect to Kevin and his family - who may actually read this. This thread is not the place to be a life nit, yet again, you know?

RIP Kevin.

Absolutely.
Much respect to the man.
RIP

You made a good post. NVG will always be NVG.

RIP Kevin.

Agreed. Insane that you would actually feel a need to "explain yourself." And good point that Kevin's family and friends might find this thread, my best to them.

Thank you Dom.
RIP young man so sad but you left your mark as next year I am gunna make it my goal to play a big tourney somewhere before my bell rings.

Thanks for sharing appreciate the follow up as I would never had known.

Cancer is a *****. Almost everyone has first-hand contact with it, either through a family member, a friend, or perhaps personal experience. I admire the way Kevin handled this.

I'm a survivor (so far) of liposarcoma. On February 4th, 2016, I had a 6" tumor removed, along with a kidney, my spleen and part of my pancreas. I went into that operating room knowing that I might never wake up. And I was fine with that. But I woke up, I survived, and even returned to the job I love.

And while I'm a confirmed atheist (who for that reason greatly values this one, wonderful, life), I don't begrudge others their "beliefs" or coping mechanisms. My mother, who died two years ago, found comfort in her beliefs and I would never have tried to persuade her otherwise.

No one gets out alive. It's how we spend the time we have that matters. My condolences to Kevin's family on their loss.

May you continue on your journey in peace...thank you for sharing your story.

ESPN Outside The Lines about to talk about this after commercial

This is a fantastic post; thanks for sharing. Pretty crazy to imagine going under anesthesia for a major surgery and not knowing if you will wake back up; that gave me chills to read and I would like to think I am not scared of dying (one will never know until you are in that position). Congrats on still being alive and having a good perspective on life!

bc imbeciles have prevented legal assisted suicide in most states

seriously this guy catches a terrible break,reaches a point at a young age where death is a better option than being tortured (relief btw) every second of the day and you want to ***** about semantics?