Hm.... Well, actually, she was always a bear of a human being. She never (at least in her adult life) had many friends. She was always extremely judgemental and difficult to be around. She was always paranoid - people were stealing her husband, we were conspiring against her, blah blah blah. I think she probably had some undiagnosed mental issues all her life. That all magnified as she got sicker. She used to call my parents and leave really vile messages for "that slut" (my mom). We've often wondered at the irony that of all the grandparents, she was the least loved and the one that's lasted the longest. I don't mean to be crass, but the reality is that some people just aren't all that likable. My mom and dad have done a good job of being respectful to her and of doing their best to take care of someone that's never made it easy. In some ways, the further dementia was a blessing. She seemed to get past the really mean part and mostly was just funny - like looking at the world through a 3 year old's eyes - full of wonder again. She's been happier than she ever was, in her state of confusion. I still don't consider it a quality life. The phone scares her, she's still super paranoid. She "hid" her dentures long ago and we've never replaced them, because she'd just hide them again. She's incontinent and abusive (physically) to the staff if they try to help her. I'm amazed that a little 92 lb woman can be so ornery when she wants to be. She's bruised several of the employees.
Anyway, I just thought it would be interesting to see if all the folks with really strong convictions about end of life issues would feel the same when it was someone "real." On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 12:49:03 -0600, Gruss Gott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Deanna wrote: > > Would you do it? Or, would you do the feeding tube? Discuss. > > > > Getting old can be so undignified. In this case it sounds like she's > led a full life and certainly has an intelligent granddaughter, which > is probably an indication that she raised good kids. Living a long, > full, successful life like that is quite an accomplishment. > > Even if a cure was 10 years away, it probably wouldn't be helpful to > her, so if it was me I'd want euthanasia, but I guess the non-feeding > tube method is the next best legal one. It sounds like your parents > will know best. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:145583 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
