My sister sent me this and I thought it would make for interesting discussion (both the article and the comments below it). http://exopermaculture.com/2016/01/19/how-we-used-to-die-how-we-die-now/ I do think there is some obvious romanticizing going on, but I do think the author makes a point.
My mom died in June this past summer at 89 after living pretty much the exact life laid out by the author. She died peacefully (the last 4 months were peaceful anyway... The three years before that were a challenge to say the least) at my sisters house (we split time taking care of her) and I don't have a single regret about it. It was an honor and a duty to make sure she didn't die hooked up to some machine in a room a hundred other people before her had died in and a hundred more will die in in the future... Something to be said for the old way of living...
i'd bet the time spent on feeding tubes or whatever is a minuscule percentage of the additional years that people live now compared to 20 years ago. I bet what is really prolonging life are new medications, new cancer treatments, new heart attack treatments, etc. my wife's grandmother is 107 and living in a home and barely has any idea what is going on. she has a do not necessitate order, but it has never come to that. she'd be happier and better off if she had passed years ago, but we can't exactly kill her.
My Dad's orders are that once he can't take care of himself, prop him up against a tree on a cold day with a bottle of bourbon and a can of Copenhagen and let nature take over.
The last 72 hours were really tough... It was clear she was ready to go but just couldn't get over the hump. When the Cheyne-Stokes breathing came on me and my sister knew it was close. It was actually a relief when she died and I was careful to tell my sister it was ok to be relieved... It was hard but I wouldn't trade that experience for the next 10 Powerball jackpots.
That's how it was for a grandmother of mine. She would always say she was praying for the lord to let her come home, and that went on for 5 years. Then dementia crept in, and she went on for another 3 like that. Sad. Not sure what anyone could have done about it. She sure did quit taking medication and following diet instructions somewhere in that first 5 years, hoping that would do the trick.
My mom said she didn't want to be buried... Just put her in a glad bag and set her out at the curb and the truck could pick her up Tuesday morning... She knew that her actual body wasn't what made her...
I want to go the George Carlin route and be shot out of a cannon into the ocean, only I want a glittery Captain America type outfit on... Either that or a Viking funeral!
If we were only as humane to humans as we are to our pets. I have put a lot of thought to how my final days are likely to be. With Parkinson's Disease coupled with severe scoliosis and Camptacormia, the prospects are very sobering, and quite honestly, frightening as hell. I will not spend my final days a damn virtual vegetable with my family being burdened with agonizing over what to do. Let me go in a peaceful quick manner, and if I am able, a song in my throat. It is taken care of.
My thought, exactly. But then you have ass holes that put down pets when they become inconvenient, so I suppose some folks would do that to their elders too.
Had a similar experience with my dad. The greatest and hardest thing I have ever done was to hold my dad's hand as he took his last breath.
