who wants to talk about death? nobody wants to talk about it....

Dom says: Indeed, nobody really wants to deal with death nor to talk about it. But there are forced moments in our life when death confronts us, and when someone so close to us, or someone in our family, or someone who has been so identified with us, succumbs to death, then we will have no choice but to accept it no matter how it hurts.
Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of death have been problematic. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation have rendered this definition to be inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted.

Today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": People are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases. It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness.

Death can be caused by disease, suffocation/asphyxiation or prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain, or physical trauma as a result of an accident, homicide, or suicide. The leading cause of death in developing countries is infectious disease. The leading causes of death in developed countries are atherosclerosis (heart disease and stroke), cancer, and other diseases related to obesity and aging. These conditions cause loss of homeostasis, leading to cardiac arrest, causing loss of oxygen and nutrient supply, causing irreversible deterioration of the brain and other tissues.

With improved medical capability, dying has become a condition to be managed. Home deaths, once normal, are now rare in the developed world. Many leading causes of death can be postponed by diet and physical activity, but the accelerating incidence of disease with age still imposes limits on human longevity.

Death is the center of many traditions and organizations, and is a feature of every culture around the world. Much of this revolves around the care of the dead, as well as the afterlife and the disposal of bodies upon the onset of death. The disposal of human corpses does, in general, begin with the last offices before significant time has passed, and ritualistic ceremonies often occur, most commonly interment or cremation.
Such rituals are accompanied by grief and mourning in almost all cases.

I am offering my deep prayers and contemplation for the eternal repose of the soul of my sister Cecilia. May the Almighty God grant her eternal rest. May she rest in Peace. My grief over her death renders this most fitting and proper offering of this bouquet of flowers from the bottom of my heart.