Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive
Sometimes I think that advances in medicine are really a two-edged sword. We keep our bodies alive long after our ability to use that body with anything resembling normalcy flees forever. It took my dad eight years to die, cooped up in a nursing home with Parkinson's which robbed him both his mind and his body. Yes, he was alive--barely--he couldn't move, feed himself or talk, but he definitely was NOT living, in any reasonable sense of that word. That was eighteen years ago now and it hurts whenever I think about it. Had it been his choice, he definitely would NOT have chosen such an exit.
We're lucky here in TV: our personal and retail spaces are designed to maximize the functionality of a geriatric population, and the availability of activities designed for us is huge. If we CAN function then this is the best place for us: Last year my wife and I played golf with a gentleman who was 96 years old, could still hit the ball well and was a lot of fun to be with. I remember on one tee he took off his jacket, stretched, and said "that warm sun makes me feel like I'm 85 again". If I live to be 96 that would be how I would elect to age, but how many of us really have that choice? All I know is that I'm going to live every day as if it were my last, and when it comes time to check out I'll have no regrets.
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I understand, I always say that quality is more important than quantity. My PCP has my living will and in it I state, no extreme measures unless they feel confident that I will regain my quality of life.
Medicine, when it fixes the problem is great, but sometimes that comes at a steep cost in quality of life.