• Thanks jack... a very interesting response and, from my conversations with Sonya I think this is exactly the conversation she's hoping for. Be very interested to hear your response after viewing the doco. - Wendy Harmer
  • As someone who doesn't follow the Australian Vaccination schedule, I already feel like I am risking ridicule and worse posting here. We have been hassled and hounded by doctors, nurses (one of us is a nurse) and other parents. Blamed for the resurgence Whooping cough and related deaths, etc. Our stance is that we immunise based on our own needs and intelligence. As a for instance, we are not convinced that our children needed to be vaccinated against Hepatitis B at birth, especially given that the vaccine contained Thiomersal when it was recommended to us. I'm not sure how aware you are of the Japanese experience with the DTP vaccinations in the mid 1970's, but as a result of many adverse reactions and over 30 deaths as a direct result of the vaccine, the schedule was altered and children were vaccinated later. I am aware that the vaccine is no longer a whole cell vaccine, however it is worth considering the delicate balance of the immune system in infants below 6 months of age. So we immunise roughly to the Japanese schedule. There is no Hep B or vericella. And MMR is given as MR and Mumps separately. We will make the call on Japanese when we visit next month. I note that the tone in the promotion of the doco appears to depict the non vaccination school as driven by emotion with the pro vaccination argument being driven by Science (which is a pretty broad concept). Our decision to vaccinate alternatively has been based on a lot of careful research and is based on risk mitigation considering that vaccinations do carry a percentage of risk, however small. We have the advantage of also being Japanese citizens, (myself a spouse resident) and can access the differently combined vaccines and scheduling. When recently discussing this on a facebook post I was branded an anti Vaccinator. Abused and blamed. My response is that I think there is a better way. A much better way. And the heavy handed pressure to Immunise to schedule, which then elicits a strong anti response from those who question, but are discouraged strongly and frowned upon for questioning, has created a climate of 'for or against', emotion or science, us against them. All pretty narrow reductive way to explore a whole collection of different diseases, risks, and vaccines (including their varieties of compositions, combinations and timing). So we have attempted to immunise the best way that we can ascertain. It's a tricky time consuming task to get all the info on each different vaccine from the manufacturers, to research each and every disease to ascertain the risks of actually contracting it and then what the risks associated with the disease are, but it has been worthwhile. I think that the community could benefit from a less doctrinal approach to the current immunisation schedule and regular review of disease risks and the vaccination schedule response. - Jackdan
  • I'm an E cup. When I was younger and skinnier I was only a C cup and could handle underwires. Then I got pregnant and discovered the bliss of maternity bras. Post babies and breastfeeding I went back to the wires only to find they poked me and now I've got 'birdseyes' in my cleavage. I cannot fathom the underwire. Obviously the person who designed it has never had to wear one. Having big boobs we're all encouraged to wear them, but now I'm old and fat they're far too uncomfortable to contemplate. I'm happy with my 'wirefree' bras. I figured that if manufacturers could make a maternity bra without wires that fitted perfectly and provided excellent support to lactating breasts, they could do the same for large, non-lactating breasts too. I found the perfect fit for me at a large chain store and bought the same type for years. Not terribly sexy, but comfortable and serviceable. Now I've discovered same large chain has a moulded cotton bra in large sizes. Better still, you can order them online when the sales are on and collect them from the store. Bliss! - BeansGran
  • Well put Sonya. I am so glad that you have created this documentary. Also, you have put forward a voice of reason backed up by compelling evidence & your own credibility. I am pro-vaccination, but I understand why it is an delicate decision for many parents. I haven't come across the anti-vax theories (I'd never even heard of the AVN until Mamamia kept writing & tweeting about them). I'd always just followed the immunisation schedule. But I have come across a lot of pushy pro-vaxxers and I have to say, it is a turn off. I understand that it's a passionate issue. But is it an effective way of increasing immunisation rates? Of course not. Some pro-vaxxers make it their full time job to name, shame & harass people opposed to vaccination. Is harassment going to change their position, heck no! Is it going to galvanise their anti-vac position, quite probably! I just think we need to be smarter about this. I know it is not a "debate" in the sense that the science is in on the benefits & general safety of vaccines. But it completely normal to feel uneasy about purposely injecting your child with something most of us know very little about. And then watching their every breath that evening as they process that vaccine. Sonya, I hope that your documentary is the beginning of the change in the way we talk about immunisation. Well done. - Kasey
  • I am very impressed by what you've set out to achieve and how you've come about it. Much of my work these days is in vaccination and I work hard to break down the myths and false beliefs people have about vaccines. I find listening to concerns, empathy and responding with good evidence based information has been the most successful manner I've had so far. I also reassure parents that it is always their choice, but I also share that I am a mum too and that I choose to vaccinate my child fully. And funnily enough that's usually the clincher. Respect, good information and empathy can go a long way. I really hope that many people watch your documentary and help absolve the many concerns and myths surrounding vaccination that are out there. You must be proud of your work :) - The Huntress
  • Not everyone has access too or any interest in the internet, you cannot drive a tractor and watch the internet but you can listen to radio, you cannot drive a car and watch the internet but you can listen to radio, you cannot wash the dishes, the clothes, yourself and watch the internet but you can listen to the radio, you can also lie in bed with Phillip Adams, half my University of the Third Age students go to bed with Phillip. Australia's best journalists were trained by the ABC. What I don't understand Gee is your palpable hatred, how can you be so angry all the time, just relax and learn that we are all different and some of us prefer the quiet nature of the ABC compared with the ranting and rage of radio shock jocks and commercial TV. Your phrase 'slash and burn' is shocking to me, no one I know hates anything, no one I know wants to destroy things or institutions, not even the IPA, why such violence of language? - sue Bell
  • [...] Science says vaccinate! [...] - LET'S TALK (NOT SHOUT) VACCINATION
  • Thankyou Emma for your good work and humanistic attitude towards others. I could not do your job and be nice to others at the same time, i'v e realized. The other ABC journo's et al should be taking notes.......all the best in your career! - louise
  • Why censor the pictures, Ro? Don't call them "young men" either. They are "vicious animals" as their act so clearly evidences. They are not human at all. Are you saying it is "justifiable" for ethnic Nigerians, who have never been to either Afghanistan or Iraq but grew up on the teat of the British Welfare State, to run down and then Halal butcher a complete stranger walking along the street and minding his own business? How can you possibly draw any connection between what happened in London and the alleged mistreatment of Aborigines in Australia? What a fine example of the "straw man" argument! Do you think NATO and other allies were "unjustified" in invading Afghanistan and liberating it from the Taliban? That same Taliban that banned girls going to school; regularly indulge in female genital mutilation and the sodomising of "dancing boys"; blew up ancient Buddhist monuments; regularly carried out executions by stoning and beheading as half-time entertainment at football matches in Kabul and Kandahar; undertook ethnic cleansing against Hazara muslims; banned music and dancing on pain of death; and provided a base for the racist extremists of Al Qaeda to operate completely unfettered? Do you think it was wrong to overthrow Saddam Hussein who had used poisonous gas on the Kurds of Iraq? Whose two mongrel sons crawled the streets of Baghdad looking for women to rape; who executed his own son-in-law after promising "forgiveness' if he returned from exile; who gained power in a coup and then personally executed scores of his own "party"? The problems in Iraq today have nothing to do with Saddam's overthrow and everything to do with the seething sectarian and ethnic hatreds that have plagued Mesopotamia since the Babylonian Empire. Why didn't those two vicious animals condemn the latest round of sunni-shia bombings and murders in Iraq? If muslim women are subjected to the regular sight of dismembered bodies, those bodies were provided by other muslims. Why is it that only this week we saw Syrian women asking Bob Carr why it is that the USA and the non-Islamic world is not interfering in their current civil war? The war is yet another essentially religious/sectarian conflict between a Sunni majority and an Alawi-Shia minority. Why should any young Americans, Britons or Australians risk their lives for these benighted, backward bastards who regularly tell us how much they hate us? Have you forgotten the spontaneous eruption of glee and happiness that occurred in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the "Islamic world" when the 9/11 attack was carried out? It seems to me that you, like so many others, have forgotten the lessons of the period from 1919-1939. Appeasement never works. Trying to trivialise this disgraceful crime; saying that ...well, maybe, it was Britain's fault and maybe if Britain hadn't been and Imperial power 200 years ago and ... really, when you look at that and what happened to the Aborigines here, maybe they were justified in running over a total stranger, who'd done nothing to them or any of their family or relatives, and then hacking off his head with a meat cleaver. The white-washing, the diminution, the trivialising, the justifying has already started in media and the blogosphere. The appeasers and the white-hating racists are already talking this whole thing around so that in a few weeks they'll be wanting to give these two mongrels a medal and have them treated as Prisoners of War. I am so glad the British cops didn't shoot them dead. I want them to suffer in HM Prison System for the rest of their lives. But, knowing the way the British EHRC led by that treacherous hater, Trevor Phillips, operate, they'll probably be named and shamed and given 20 hours community service. - Jack Richards
  • Anyway. So long Latin. I know there will be people close to Hazel who will be feeling sad and confused today. Sad for who she was and confused because she is perhaps better off dead now. And then there is everyone else who were touched by Hazel's contribution to our lives. Thank you Hazel and her supporters. - ro.watson
 
28
Categories:  Must see, Wellbeing, Your Stories

MY LIFE IN A MORGUE

By Colin Long
September 16, 2012

“You work WHERE..?!”

The looks on people’s faces when they asked me where I work were absolutely priceless.

I’d cheerily reply: “In a hospital mortuary.”

You could almost see the cogs turning as they’d try to process what they’d just heard. It was pretty much the same each time, as if I’d said something weird (and to them, it was).

To me, however, it was my daily workplace, and therefore just as normal as any office or factory – normal, but I do concede, somewhat unusual.

Although I always understood the general unease of people who’d baulk at my answer, I always felt compelled to explain. Not to justify myself and my work, but to shed some reasonable light on the reality of it and its immense value.

 

Image via The Guardian

Death is such an intrinsic part of life, yet it is all too often ignored in our society.

It is relegated to the back of our collective minds, or passed over as if it doesn’t really happen. The idea of death is more or less swept under the carpet or locked away in a cupboard – that is, until we’re suddenly confronted by it and it’s out of our control.

Some people’s assumptions and preconceptions about working in a mortuary are spot-on. You certainly can’t say there’s anything pleasant about working with corpses, but to be quite honest, there’s nothing really that awful about it.

Sure, sometimes the fetid odour of decomposition and the viscous, syrupy mess of bodily spillages can be confronting, but in time you really do get used to it. You never grow to like these things, but you learn how to deal with them. It’s all part of the job.

A mortuary is a really fascinating place to work, and it involves the provision of an essential community service. It’s one of those things that carry the “someone’s got to do it” tag.

Every day, everywhere, life ceases, and there’s always going to be an interim period before burial or cremation (whether that be a few days or a few weeks). In the meantime, it naturally follows, that someone has to look after the dead, and I was happy for it to have been me.

There’s many an interesting story to be told.

One time, we had a 317 kilogram body to deal with – the ultimate exercise in logistics and effective teamwork.

Once the “how-to” plan was devised, it took six of us considerable time to manipulate the body in order to feed steel chains underneath. These chains were fed through lengths of garden hose to prevent the metal cutting through the flesh. Using a car engine hoist, the grossly obese corpse was then winched up and slowly manoeuvred across to a custom-built, reinforced coffin.

Burial in a double plot was the only option available to the family; cremation was out, as the coffin was just too big for the doors of a standard crematorium furnace.

There are sad stories too, like the case of the 40-something mother who had been admitted to hospital after suffering an aneurysm at a rock concert. She didn’t pull through, and was moved to the mortuary.

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28 Responses to this article

  1. B.H. September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I work with sex offenders… not much more to say about that really!

     
  2. Kaz September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    That was interesting, thanks Colin. I agree, we do shield ourselves as a society from death. I just think the fear emerges in a different forms, such as obssesion with safety and risk avoidance, obssesion with health and youthfulness etc. I’m 35 and I’ve never seen a dead human body. I think there’s something a little weird about that in a way. Not that I’m going to wish for it…but you know what I mean. Its kinda unnatural.

    I try not to shield my kids too much from the reality of death, where possible. No euphemisms like ‘gone to heaven’ or ‘gone to sleep’ or ‘passed on’. Just ‘dead’ will do. We have chats about what different beliefs there are about what happens (if anything) when you die, but that ultimately nobody knows. The main thing is to love and appreciate your life and loved ones here and now.

     
    • Colin September 17, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Thanks, Kaz. I agree, I think the best way is to be open and honest, and engage with your kids about the entire topic of life/death and the different beliefs that emerge. For something so intrinsic to life, our general avoidance of death conversations is only going to be detrimental. As you rightly point out, love and appreciation during life is a very important thing (and one we too often let slip).

       
  3. Red 60 September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    My Uncle was a Professor of Medicine and took great delight telling us ‘children’ many tales from the morgue, so in a way in became second nature. Then when my Dad had his Bucks Party you guessed it , that’s where they held it… I think we need to talk more about not just the living but also what happens after death, because it will naturally happen to all of us, or to one of our loved ones at some time. That way we more ‘at ease’ when the time comes.

     
    • Colin September 17, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Absolutely. None of it is pleasant, but the inevitability of it all means we should at least be discussing the topic. Age-appropriately, of course. The more we open up, the more we’re bound to be at ease, and better prepared for what’s to come.

       
  4. The Huntress September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Great that you get satisfaction from your job! When I was a student nurse I had an opportunity to tour a hospital morgue (incidently the hospital I would go on to work at). The lovely young lady who guided us was clearly dedicated to her work and imparted such wonderful knowledge about her role. She told the story of how she came to work in a morgue (it was her teenaged desire to do so) and the time she had spent working with a chap who she admired so greatly and had taught her so much. It’s great to know that when we die we are in the hands of such caring and experienced individuals as yourself and this lady who carefully guided us.

    I also agree that we need to be more open about death to our children. I remember taking my then 4 year old boy to the funeral of my beloved grandmother (his “old-nan”). I asked if he wanted to see her body and he said yes and my mother asked if she could take him in. I agreed and was surprised to see my mother return him to me crying…with laughter. My young lad had gone in to say goodbye to “old-nan”, took one look at her and said “Oh. Do you think we should call her an ambulance?”.

    Bit late for that, sweetie.

     
    • Colin September 17, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Working in the mortuary was by far the most rewarding job I’ve done. For me, treating the deceased with care and dignity was just a natural part of it all. The souls had moved on, but the corpses were still worthy of respect. Thanks for the story of your son – too funny!

       
  5. anne September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Would rather work in a morgue than with those greedy people who think it’s a good idea to make themselves wealthy at other’s expense. At least the corpses have more heart.

    When someone dies it is reassuring to know that there are people looking after their bodies who are respecful.

     
    • anne September 17, 2012 Reply
       
       

      That being said, people who work in morgues must see some pretty distressing sights. (I work with a lady who used to work in a morgue). I hope the staff are looked after.

       
      • Colin September 17, 2012 Reply
         
         

        Great point about the staff being looked after if need be. There was always the opportunity to walk away and take time out if a difficult situation arose. Having a good manager was a blessing too.

         
  6. JessB September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    This was such a fascinating article about an area of work I have not often thought about. Thanks heaps for sharing Colin, and thanks for hosting Hoopla!

    P.S. I wonder if ‘Odd Jobs’ could become a monthly series? Someone from a job others might think is strange, or which is simply outside of our experience. Just a thought!

     
    • Colin September 17, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Thanks, JessB, and yes, big thanks to The Hoopla for hosting!

       
  7. RES September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Many, many years ago I worked in Anatomical Pathology (aka the place where they do the autopsies of people that have died in hospital). When I looked at bodies it never bothered me, they always looked like they were asleep.The saddest ones were the babies that hadn’t made it.

    It definitely was an interesting part of my laboratory training, and has made for many interesting conversations.

    As I always say, someone has to do it. Thanks for letting others know about the job.

     
  8. Cheryll September 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Thank you for sharing Colin, unfortunately death was thrown on my young children when they were 4,7 and 9 when their father, my husband was killed in a car crash. We had a family viewing the day before the funeral, I left it up to them if they wanted to go in to see their Dad, initially they all said no, so a friend took them to a nearby park whilst I went in to see my beloved husband. On their return they all decided that they wanted to see him, it was heart wrenching to say the least, however it gave me the opportunity to explain that the light had gone out of Daddy and they saw this for themselves. I found it comforting (and I believe they did too)to tell them that their Daddy was looked after by wonderful caring people in the ambulance, the hospital (morgue) and the funeral home. To this day I am grateful for those wonderful caring people that chose to do those jobs that somebody has to do. Seeing their Dad brought acceptance to my children as it does to adults and I believe children should be able to experience it, process it and accept it, obviously with someone supporting them through the whole experience so that it doesn’t become an ordeal.

     
    • Colin September 18, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Cheryll, thanks for adding your story. I think you’re spot on, that support is essential when dealing with death – whether that support be for children or adults. Avoidance just leaves the imagination to run wild with often inaccurate images of what has happened to the deceased. I’m glad you left it to your children to decide if they wanted to see their dad, and I appreciate how difficult it would have been, at such young ages. Even if people choose not to view the body, then support can come by way of talking about the loss and what it all means, and sharing feelings… and crying – I believe it’s important to let it all out. Thank you for your gratitude to the people who cared for your husband at that time.

       
  9. Wendy Green September 18, 2012 Reply
     
     

    … “One of those jobs no one else will do?” … Does cleaning the bathroom for 40 years count???

     
  10. Dramaqueen75 September 22, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Colin, I finally got a chance to read your story.
    It is very comforting to know that good people, with care and respect, are working in our hospital mortuarys.
    I found it very hard to leave my mum’s body in the hospital last year when she died. I was so sure that to the people in the morgue she would be business like but I was unsure if they would be kind and thoughtful.
    I hope that someone like you death with the body she no longer could use.
    Thank you for your story

     
  11. Rhoda September 23, 2012 Reply
     
     

    And thank you from me too, Colin. It’s a comfort to know that the bodies of our loved ones are treated with respect.

     
  12. Colin September 23, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Hi Dramaqueen75 and Rhoda, I think it’s a natural fear in many of us that the bodies of our loved ones may not receive the dignity and respect they deserve – especially when the family has limited access and control after death. I’ve had quite a lot of feedback about people feeling comforted that the bodies are still cared for properly after death, and I’m glad that aspect of reassurance comes through in the article. Thank you for your comments.

     
  13. Karen November 4, 2012 Reply
     
     

    So true this story is amazing finally someone who is embracing that death is a part of life.
    I will tell my story briefly my father died at aged 42 I was 7 years old from his 3 rd heart attack. He died during the night and apart from being told that he was dead – whatever that meant, he was gone. No one talked about him and I was not allowed to go to the funeral. Over the next decade or so I watched as my mother widowed at 42 grieve deeply. I was the youngest of 4 children and money was always an issue after his death. My teens and twenties were spent in a state of total insecurity as I thought that I would lose my mother and/or everyone close to me in the same way. I became a nurse and discovered that death was inevitable and sometimes a relief and its not being alive that’s good it’s the quality of your life too. I have seen and held the hands if many dying people and watched their families grieve. I am now at peace with myself and have shared these thoughts with my now grown up children. Colin your article is fantastic I only wish more people saw death in this way and made the most of their time when loved ones are still alive. Thank you.

     
    • Colin (Twitter: @CollyLong) November 9, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Thank you, Karen, for your kind words and also for sharing your story. You make a good point about the loss of your father, so young, setting up a fear of losing others around you, and the feeling of insecurity this can bring. Also, the loss of your father leading to monetary insecurity for your mother who was left to raise her family. Thanks for your comments.

       
  14. Paul - The Kind Little Blogger November 27, 2012 Reply
     
     

    You’re very right, Colin. Death is something that should be discussed, like a whole swag of other inconvenient or inevitable truths. I was first seriously exposed to the concept of death through studying a degree in philosophy. It was eye opening being introduced to such a broad range of theories and ideas.

    I suggest that everybody check out the series of lectures by Prof. Shelly Kagan on death. It intermingles the concept of death with a whole heap of philosophical schools and theories.

     
    • Colin (Twitter: @CollyLong) November 30, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Cheers for the input, Paul. Without a doubt, it’s essential to discuss the inevitable things in life. Fear (surely a big reason we don’t discuss death) has a lot to answer for, but all the non-discussion just perpetuates the fear – and what a bad cycle that all adds up to!

      Thanks for adding the link – I’ll tweet it to help spread it around.

       
  15. Paul - The Kind Little Blogger November 27, 2012 Reply
     
     

    p.s. The lectures can be found here: http://oyc.yale.edu/philosophy/phil-176

     
  16. robyn May 18, 2013 Reply
     
     

    IV been trying to find out how to gain work in a morgue.being hospital, or state . But find a dead end every time. No courses here in Perth. So anyone with information plus email me. Robynbeattie33@Gmail.com

     
    • Colin (Twitter: @CollyLong) May 22, 2013 Reply
       
       

      Hi Robyn, Might be different in different states, but I was an Operational Services Officer. Prior training in the area wasn’t required for my role. Technical Officer would be another general position that would be applicable. Beyond that, the area I was in here in SA was Surgical Pathology, so degrees in Medical Science are the go.

       

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  • Wendy Harmer: Thanks jack... a very interesting response and, from my conversations with Sonya I think this is exactly the conversatio...

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  • Jackdan: As someone who doesn't follow the Australian Vaccination schedule, I already feel like I am risking ridicule and worse p...

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  • Kasey: Well put Sonya. I am so glad that you have created this documentary. Also, you have put forward a voice of reason backed...

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