ONE NEWS CAPTIONS BY DESNEY SHAW AND LAUREN STRAIN. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT TVNZ ACCESS SERVICES 2013 DUE TO THE LIVE NATURE OF SEVEN SHARP, WE APOLOGISE FOR THE LACK OF CAPTIONS FOR SOME ITEMS. HI. WELCOME TO THE SHOW. This shirt is running a bit. That is a bit short. THEY'RE THE ONES WHO SAVE LIVES. SO, A SURVEY OF DOCTORS ON DEATH. SCRATCHING OUR HEADS A BIT. THERE MIGHT BE A SMALL CHANCE WE MIGHT BREAK A RIB, LACERATE YOUR LIVER... We meet someone who needs no help staying alive. She is 109 years old. At 109. Awesome. And are you more creative, likely to die earlier than other people? Or the President of the US? If so, you have something in common with Tim Wilson. THIS ISN'T JUST ANOTHER STORY. THIS IS PERSONAL. THIS IS SEVEN SHARP. Our first story is about one of life's certainties. We're not talking about tax. We're talking bout death. We do the survey on doctors and their attitudes on death. The findings surprise me. Would you assume... Don't give it away! Here's Gill Higgins. SPEND 10 MINUTES OUTSIDE ON A SUNNY DAY AND YOU SEE LOTS OF PEOPLE ENJOYING LIFE, BUT HOW FAR WOULD THEY GO TO HANG ON TO IT, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE END OF LIFE WHEN YOU ALREADY HAVE A FEW HEALTH PROBLEMS, AND THEN ` A HEART ATTACK? SO I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE IT'S ME THAT'S HAVING THE HEART ATTACK. AND IMAGINE THE SCENE IS A BIT LIKE THIS. TIFFANY SCHRIVER (30) WENT DOWN AT A FUNDRAISER. SO WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS? I NEED A CHEST X-RAY STAT, ALSO A CPDCLT... ...AND AN EKG. OMG! MAYBE WE'LL EXPLAIN WHAT'S ON OFFER WITH A REAL DOCTOR. JUST REMEMBER, SHE'S NOT AN ACTOR. THE OBVIOUS TREATMENT IS CPR. OXYGEN. YOU DO CHEST COMPRESSIONS TO KICK-START BREATHING. WE'LL PUT THE PADS ON. AND MAY NEED ELECTRIC SHOCKS TO RESTART THE HEART. MACHINE: ATTACH PADS. IF YOU'RE YOUNG AND HEALTHY, OF COURSE YOU WOULD HAVE IT, BUT WE'RE TALKING SOMEONE WHO IS NOT TOO WELL. IS IT STILL WORTH HAVING THEN? DEFINITELY. I WOULD WANT TO BE REVIVED. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO RECOVER, YOU WOULD LIKE DOCTORS TO DO ALL OF THESE THINGS? YEAH. YEAH. YOU PUT YOUR LIFE INTO THEIR HANDS. BUT OF 300 DOCTORS WE SURVEYED, 91% WOULD REFUSE CPR IF THEY HAD AN UNDERLYING CONDITION. SHOCKING. HOW BAD IS THIS? WELL, THERE MIGHT BE A SMALL CHANCE WE MIGHT BREAK A RIB, LACERATE YOUR LIVER, BUT, REALLY, IT'S JUST THAT THE SUCCESS RATE IS REALLY LOW. IT'S NOT LIKE ON TELEVISION. ONE, TWO, THREE... BAYWATCH HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR. WAIT! WAIT! SHE'S CONSCIOUS. IF WE LOOK AT THE TV SHOWS AND WE SEE JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY WHO GOES THROUGH CPR, SURVIVING, THEN, I GUESS, IN A WAY, WE THINK, 'WELL, IF THAT HAPPENED TO ME, I WOULD PROBABLY WANT THAT.' CLEAR! BUT SOMEONE ACTUALLY STUDIED HOW REALISTIC MEDICAL DRAMAS ARE. AGAIN! WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THAT 75% OF THE PEOPLE WHO NEEDED TO BE RESUSCITATED, SURVIVED. YOU SAVED ME. WHEREAS THE REALITY IS THAT 8% OF PEOPLE SURVIVE CPR TO DISCHARGE. BACK TO OUR SCENARIO. ALMOST WITHOUT EXCEPTION, PEOPLE I SPOKE TO WERE KEEN ON INTERVENTION. I'D BE FINE WITH ALL OF IT. YEAH, I'D BE FINE WITH ALL OF IT. ALL OF THE ABOVE. IF THEY DEVELOP THE MEANS TO CURE, WHY NOT USE IT. WHEN YOUR LIFE IS ON THE LINE, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS EXPECTED, THEN MAYBE IT ISN'T UNREASONABLE TO THINK PEOPLE WANT EVERYTHING DONE. BUT FOR DOCTORS, IT WENT LIKE THIS ` ARTIFICIAL VENTILATION; I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PUT A TUBE IN THROUGH YOUR MOUTH AND INTO YOUR WINDPIPE. BEING FED THROUGH A FEEDING TUBE; WE PUT LUBRICANT ON IT AND THEN WE PASS IT INTO YOUR NOSE, THROUGH THE BACK OF THE NOSE, AND DOWN THE BACK OF YOUR THROAT. WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO SWALLOW AS IT GOES DOWN. AND THEN THERE'S THE LIKES OF SURGERY, WHICH WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THAT. YOU'RE UNDER ANAESTHETIC NOW, AND WE'RE GOING TO CUT. AND LASTLY,... THIS IS CHEMOTHERAPY WHICH MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH, AND WHICH I LIKE COS I DON'T HAVE TO WEAR AN EMBARRASSING HAT. WE'LL FIND A VEIN. CHEMO CAN MAKE YOU FEEL REALLY SICK. SOMETIMES THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM CAN BE SO SUPPRESSED, THEIR WHITE CELLS GO DOWN AND THEY GET AN INFECTION THAT COULD THREATEN THEIR LIFE. AS FOR MY ONE NAYSAYER IN THE PUBLIC... I KNOW TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO'VE GONE THE CHEMO ROUTE AND HAVE SAID THEY'D NEVER DO IT AGAIN. SO IT'S A DIFFICULT ONE. WE'VE COME UP WITH A BIT OF A LOOSE SCENARIO, BUT WOULD YOU SAY IT DOES PROVE A POINT? IT DOES. FROM THE MEDICAL PROFESSION'S PERSPECTIVE, THEY ARE SEEING THE REALITY OF WHAT A LOT OF THESE INTERVENTIONS DO TO PEOPLE. SO HAVE A THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT, AND LIKE THIS LADY, YOU COULD WRITE A FORWARD PLAN. IT'S, BASICALLY, IF IT'S NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING, IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANY BETTER, UM, PULL THE CORD. IS MY UNCLE GOING TO SURVIVE? AND THOUGH DOCTORS ADMIT THOSE END-OF-LIFE CONVERSATIONS CAN BE AWKWARD,... YEP! PRETTY DEEP COMA. ...MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THE INFO YOU NEED. IT JUST SEEMS THAT THERE'S THIS HUGE VOID IN OUR SOCIETY ABOUT TALKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES. BUT I THINK THEY'RE HARD CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE. REALLY HARD. If people had a serious illness and then something else happened, would they want to be survived? That's the scenario. You still use CPR on the street if you know it. What if you have DNR tattooed on your head? We met a woman who has it on her chest. So there is absolutely no chance of confusion if she is in trouble. The oldest woman in the story just now was the one who said no. She'd seen how hard it is on people. All the young people, full of life, were really supportive. I think Grey's anatomy and ER got a rough ride in that story. Of course people survive more in the shows. I learned a lot from that show. Travel a pen knife to perform a tracheotomy. Wouldn't you have a go? I'm serious. 85% of doctors on that show are hot. In real life, more like 8%. Thank you very much to the doctors who helped us in that survey. If you want more information, see the results, go to our website. Remember, what they want is every bit as important as what you think they want what you want. AFTER THE BREAK, IF YOU WANT TO CRACK THE CENTURY, THE SECRET SEEMS TO BE THE ODD DRINK AND A CAKE OR TWO. BUT YOU COULD TRY DANCING TOO. JESSE HAS HIS TIPS TO A LONG LIFE. Welcome back. Oh, you're over there. People on Twitter can't believe that stat that 8% of CPR attempts are successful. We have a bit of a theme about living along the night. Heather asked on Twitter last week for any questions you could ask a 109-year-old woman. She got heaps, but decided to ignore them all and just ask how much you can drink. RAGTIME MUSIC THANK YOU EVEN FOR COMING TO MY PARTY. < OH, LOVELY. < WELL DONE, DARLING. I'VE GOT NOTHING SPECIAL. I'VE JUST GROWN OLDER... AND OLDER. AND THAT'S THAT. I'M, WHAT, 105? I DON'T KNOW. 109! A HUNDRED... OH. 109. THAT MAKES PEG THE SECOND-OLDEST PERSON IN NZ. THE SECOND-OLDEST? YEAH. HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? I WAS TOLD. AND WHO BETTER TO ASK THAN THE COUNTRY'S SECOND-OLDEST PERSON ` AND A FORMER NURSE ` ABOUT HOW THE REST OF US CAN ALSO CRACK 109. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? BE YOURSELF, GET ON WITH YOUR JOB AND, YOU KNOW, ENJOY LIFE. WE WANT SPECIFICS, SO LET'S START WITH BEVERAGES. AM I ALLOWED TO DRINK? SURE. DO YOU STILL DRINK? I'LL STILL HAVE ONE. WHY NOT? OOH, LOVELY. FOR THE SMOKERS OUT THERE, WE ASKED ABOUT THE FAGS. DID YOU SMOKE? I DID ONCE. ONCE! A LONG TIME AGO. WE'RE TOLD PEG GAVE UP AT 86 AND THEN STOPPED SNEAKING CIGGIES AT 100. I HAVEN'T SMOKED FOR YEARS! IF YOU HATE EXERCISE, GET OVER IT. YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE IT. I STILL GO TO THE CLASSES. TOUCH MY TOES AND STAND UP. CAN YOU STILL TOUCH YOUR TOES? YEAH. OOH. AND IT'S TRUE WHAT YOUR MUM SAID ` YOU MUST EAT PROPERLY. WELL, SALADS. OH YEAH. OUR CHANCES OF REACHING PEG'S RIPE OLD AGE ARE GETTING BETTER. 60 YEARS AGO ONLY 50 PEOPLE HAD MANAGED TO CRACK 100 YEARS. TODAY PEG'S AMONG AN ESTIMATED 500 CENTENARIANS. UNFORTUNATELY IT SEEMS GENETICS COUNTS BIG TIME. PEG'S LITTLE SISTER BETTY'S STILL AROUND. SHE'S ONLY A HUNDRED AND... FOUR. COMING UP. BETTY COULDN'T MAKE IT UP FROM THE SOUTH ISLAND FOR HER BIG SISTER'S PARTY, SO WE TOOK HER BIRTHDAY WISHES ALONG FOR HER. AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY HAPPY DAY. AND I WISH I COULD BE WITH YOU, BECAUSE IT'S JUST A BIT TOO DIFFICULT NOW. OK, BET. OH, LOVELY. A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE PEG'S PARENTS TOOK HER AROUND IN A HORSE AND TRAP. SHE'S HAD A FAMILY, AND THEY'VE HAD FAMILIES. SHE'S SEEN TWO WARS, A DEPRESSION, A RECESSION AND 36 GOVERNMENTS. I'M A LITTLE OVERAWED. ARE YOU? AND THE SECRET TO A LONG LIFE, IF YOU MEASURE IT BY PEG'S, IS JUST TO ENJOY LIFE. I'M JUST MYSELF. I'VE JUST GOT A BIT OLDER, LIKE YOU HAVE. (CHUCKLES) Greg, do you hope you will be that healthy when you're 109 years old? I love that she in their 80s said, 'These ciggies are bad for me. Better give 'em up.' We think she is the second oldest person and NZ. We know there is one older. If you know any others who are older, let us know. Happy to be proven wrong. Department of Statistics say it's a privacy issue. Let's exploit that. Funny story from the birthday... Best not to preface it with that. Setting yourself up. She saw some MPS at her party and asked what all the nobs were doing there. Short for nobility. Don't say that so much these days. AS LIFESPANS GET LONGER, SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT HUMAN IMMORTALITY COULD BE MERE DECADES AWAY. JESSE ASKS, 'WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER?' IMMORTALITY. IT WORKED FOR ORLANDO BLOOM, THE HIGHLANDER AND KENNY FROM SOUTH PARK, BUT IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE? ONE WAY TO LIVE FOREVER IS THROUGH RELIGION, WHICH TENDS TO PROMISE SOME SORT OF ETERNAL LIFE, BUT IT'S USUALLY AN EVERLASTING-SOUL SORT OF THING, NOT THE FUN ONE WHERE YOU CAN GET HIT BY A TRUCK AND WAKE UP ALIVE AGAIN THE NEXT MORNING. TO LIVE FOREVER HERE ON EARTH, YOU'LL NEED TO REMEMBER JUST ONE SIMPLE THING: DON'T DIE. THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO DIE. TO AVOID AGING YOU'LL NEED SCIENCE; TO AVOID DISEASE YOU'LL NEED TECHNOLOGY; AND TO AVOID TRAUMA YOU'LL NEED TO BE CAREFUL. BUT DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE IMMORTAL? IF YOU LIVE FOREVER, ALL YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE BEFORE YOU. AND WHAT ABOUT TIDYING UP THAT BACKYARD? IF YOU'RE BAD AT PROCRASTINATION NOW, IMAGINE IF YOU LITERALLY HAD ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD. THIS GUY'S A FAMOUS PHILOSOPHER, AND HE RECKONS LIVING FOREVER WOULD BE LIKE WATCHING THE SAME MOVIE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN ` NO MATTER HOW GREAT IT WAS TO BEGIN WITH, YOU'D EVENTUALLY GET BORED OF IT. OR, TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY... I love how demographic you made yourself the last one there. Everyone else just died away. CORRECTION: The graphic It says a lot about you. I'd get over all of your deaths. I like Dirty Dancing, though. I could watch it forever. Never seen it. Don't feel like I'm missing out. Aw, Greg. AFTER THE BREAK, TIM WILSON TAKES US ON A DEEPLY PERSONAL JOURNEY Welcome back. Talking amongst ourselves. Don't worry. Terrible habit. I'm going to talk now. I knew there was something special about Tim Wilson. I'm can tell from just looking at him. I couldn't put my finger on it. It turns out he is a lefty. There is no need to be touchy about being a lefty. GLOOMY MUSIC LIVING IN SHADOWS; CRUELLY TAUNTED ` LEFTY, SINISTER, CACK-HANDER; SCISSORS ANY RIGHT-HANDED CHILD COULD USE CAUSING FRUSTRATION AND SHAME; AND EVEN THE SIMPLE ACT OF WRITING ` SKID MARKS. I'M TIM WILSON. THIS ISN'T JUST ANOTHER STORY. THIS IS PERSONAL. NO, LITERALLY, PERSONAL. ONE STUDY SUGGESTS LEFT-HANDERS DIE NINE YEARS BEFORE RIGHT-HANDERS. I DON'T WANT TO DIE. I WANT TO LIVE. AM I GOING TO DIE NINE YEARS EARLIER? VERY MUCH DOUBT IT, TIM. I MEAN, THE` I THINK THAT WAS A MYTH, THE MORE IT'S TESTED, THE LESS IT'S PRESENT. SO THE NINE YEARS HAVE PROBABLY DIMINISHED TO, AT MOST, ABOUT ONE, IF THAT. YEAH! SO WHILE I'M TALKING TO PROFESSOR CORBALLIS,... 'COTTON-EYED JOE' PLAYS ...HERE'S MY SPIRIT ANIMAL DANCING, WAVING THE... OH, DAMMIT, WRONG HAND, YOU TWIT! SOME MORE MYTHS: LEFTIES' BRAINS ARE MORE INTERESTING, RIGHT? YOUR BRAIN IS PROBABLY 95% THE SAME AS A RIGHT-HANDER'S BRAIN. DAMMIT. UH, LEFTIES ARE MORE CREATIVE. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY EVIDENCE THAT THEY'RE MORE CREATIVE. BLAST. I WANTED TO TAKE A SWING AT THE RIGHT-FACING WORLD, SO I MET THE SECRETARY FOR THE NZ LEFT-HANDED GOLFING ASSOCIATION. WHILE HE WAS SHOWING ME THEIR TROPHIES, SOMETHING ON HIS WALL SUGGESTED THIS STORY WAS BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT. DRAMATIC MUSIC A LEFT-HANDED HORSE ` CROOKED STICK. YES, HORSES ARE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS. HE COULD ONLY RACE SUCCESSFULLY LEFT-HANDED. LEFT-HOOFED, I SUPPOSE? NO, HE WASN'T LEFT-HOOFED, BUT FOR SOME REASON SOME RACEHORSES ARE FAR BETTER LEFT-HANDED ` BUT FOR SOME REASON SOME RACEHORSES ARE FAR BETTER LEFT-HANDED ` RACING LEFT-HANDED ` THAN RUNNING RIGHT-HANDED. 'HAIL TO THE CHIEF' PLAYS BUT IT'S NOT JUST HORSES WHO CAN BE LEFT-HANDED. FIVE OF THE LAST SEVEN US PRESIDENTS HAVE BEEN, WELL, LIKE ME. IT'S PROBABLY GOT MORE TO DO WITH THE PERCEIVED OBSTACLES THAT LEFT-HANDERS MAY FACE, SO THEY STRIVE HARDER. SO KEEP HATING, RIGHT-HANDERS. PUTTING ASIDE THAT PESKY CITIZENSHIP RULE, I'M KEEPING MY EYE ON THE PRIZE. You wonder what Tim Wilson would do in the real world if he didn't work on television. Send a chill down the spine. So much research on lefties and righties. Lefties apparently more reticent. Not true of Tim. The report more accidents than righties. Probably something to do with the fact that everything in life is right-handed. Conflicting studies on whether they die earlier. The margin of error has been reduced to a tiny amount. Most of the studies used baseball players, for some bizarre reason. So there is nothing to worry about. Do you remember Test The Nation? In Britain, the left-handers were a couple of IQ points smarter. They don't pronounce the T. Jimi Hendrix was a famous left-hander. But he always played a right-handed guitar turned upside down. This is more death than we have ever had in one show before. THERE WERE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO GOT IN TOUCH FOLLOWING THURSDAY NIGHT'S SHOW, WANTING TO HELP US FIND FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMP JIMMY PEAU. A LOT ENCOURAGED US TO KEEP LOOKING, AND WE BELIEVE WE'VE FOUND HIM. CRAIG STANAWAY HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH KEVIN BARRY, THE BOXING TRAINER WHO LIVES IN LAS VEGAS AND WHOSE DAD COACHED PEAU TO HIS COMMONWEALTH GOLD. HE'S GOING TO VISIT HIM AS SOON AS HE CAN AND SEE IF WE CAN DO SOMETHING FOR HIM. WHEN HE DOES, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW. PLUS TOMORROW NIGHT, MATT CHISHOLM WILL BRING YOU THE AMAZING STORY OF HOW ONE MAN HAS RECOVERED FROM A HORIFFIC BRAIN INJURY WITH THE HELP OF OUR OWN HUMBLE PINUS RADIATA. THAT'S SEVEN SHARP FOR MONDAY. CAPTIONS BY RICHARD EDMUNDS AND ANNE LANGFORD. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. 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