About this body...

Greetings, medical students. Recently I contacted Genesis to receive my body upon death. I have asked them to work with Organ/tissue donating up to the point that they can still accept my body. I have always detested littering and misuse of resources, so--I appreciate making the most of the body that my spirit was housed in.

Having seen a few dead bodies and attending a few funerals, I see no logical reason for this expensive ritual. It is plain when viewing the lifeless body of a loved one--that the body you are viewing is no longer your loved one. I  appreciate Genesis basically stepping in and relieving my family of a lot of decisions. Genesis will arrange for the transport, death certificates, and as stated in another comment, when all is done, they will cremate and place the ashes in a memorial garden. The best thing is that not only will my family be relieved of final expense (IF my body is acceptable at time of death), but they will also be relieved of the organization necessary in arranging funerals and such.

My family, I really want life to go on as normal (or better if normal is not great at this moment). Nope, my death is not an excuse to miss school or take time off from work unless you just want to play hookie. 

No expensive trips to view my lifeless body; which is no longer me, anyway. It is natural that you will miss me. One of you will know have to change the cat litter and clean out the refrigerator. (insert laughter)

It will be nice to be thought of from time to time, but the best will be the last living memory we have together. Hopefully we will be laughing or otherwise enjoying our time together--not you looking at a body that no longer houses me. I hope by the time of my passing that you understand that we humans are not the body.

Now, students--I have had a few abnormalities. Would you rather discover these for yourself? Or, would you rather a transcript be implanted somehow? For instance, what if there are things I know about recovering from a brain injury from the patient side that you will never learn unless someone like me tells you? How will you know what it is like to live through cognition redevelopment -- from the Tabula Rosa state to a generally acceptable cognition level. Is that important to you? Would you like to hear about the hell termed "unconscious"? Or, would you rather continue with textbook theory?

How would you feel and how do you think your studies would be impacted if the bodies you were working with came with a video developed while the person was living? What if you could hear their prior voice and get a "feel" for their personalities? Would that impact the validity of your studies in any way? Would you feel the same as you do now about dissecting bodies? What if the video asked you to play music, or shared a joke with you?

TBC