[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

Now is the time to allow end of life assistance. The more money you have, the longer you will be kept alive artificially.

Not necessarily. Not if you make your wishes known via an "end of life directive" drawn up by a lawyer.

Our 42 year old, almost 43 this August, son recently called to ask us to make the final decision for him (as he just redid his will, etc.) if he were on life support due to some tragic occurrence (he flies a lot each week, coast to coast, but says driving is even more dangerous).

Our role would only come into play if his wife was also comatose, passed away or otherwise unable to make the decision.

He specifically said that he only wants to be on life support for 7 days. If , at the end of the week, there is no improvement or hope for recovery, he wants the plug pulled. We told him we understood.

On the other hand, my 71 year old sister in law, wants to be kept indefinitely on life support as she believes that there is always hope for a recovery or cure........none in her immediately family, like her own children, would agree to that..........so she had my 46 year old daughter agree and sign the "end of life directive". Her Godchild. My s.i.l.'s own children disagreed with keeping her forever on life support.....but I guess it can be done?

When my mom entered skilled nursing care near end stage Alzheimers, they asked her, and us, if she wanted extra means of life support at the end.......it was explained to her in detail and she said NO. She did comprehend what the doctor and nurse were saying. She also had it in her will, made years earlier....so that made the process at the end easier.


All Mom received were frequent shots of morphine, no water, just swabs in the mouth.....and oxygen. All "comfort care". Her death was peaceful.......all in one day, from morning to evening, as I sat by her side. The nurse sat with me, as did Mom's roomie.

By the way, this was predetermined the day before when she stopped swallowing and would not keep even water down nor food. They kept attempting to spoon feed her but it really was the end. She couldn't take her vitamins either.......so the doctor stopped them.

We saw others kept alive on machines. At age 91. What is the point?

All of our wishes can be put ahead of time into a will.
She made her new will out at least ten years prior to her death.
No life support....no feeding tubes, etc.