A couple of days ago DW's Uncle died, the last member of that generation. He was 92 and died within hours of being admitted to hospital. We visited him this year in June while we were staying in Cornwall (he lived in Devon) and he was exactly how we would like to be at that age - Living independently in his own house and still physically active, very witty and sharp. His wife, DW's mother's sister, had died 3 years ago but he continued to very active in their circle of friends, dancing and going away on weekend trips.
He had fallen outside a store a few months earlier and broken his hip, and when a scan was done they saw an aneursym that was life threatening. The Doc told him that he was still very fit for his age and could probably survive an op to fix it. He booked a day for the op but next day got an infected toe and had to cancel. He then did some more talking to the doc and realized that even if successful he would have weeks or even months in hospital. Since he wouldn't even have known about the aneurysm if not for the fall, he decided not to have the op after all. As he told us, "I hear that it is not a bad way to go".
My Dad, age 84, died the same way 4 years ago, still living at home, and when he was taken into hospital with a bad pain in his gut he was told that he had an aneurysm that was leaking and would burst very soon. He was offered an op with a 50/50 chance of survival but he declined, saying that he was ready to check out. At the time this decision upset my sisters who were with him but we all agree now that it was the right one. He died a few hours later. My sisters were taking turns being by his side in hospital and he asked the one that was with him to go get him another slice of toast after he'd eaten breakfast. When she returned a few minutes later the aneurysm had burst and he was dead. My only regret was that I didn't get to see him, he died just before I boarded a plane to go over.
He had fallen outside a store a few months earlier and broken his hip, and when a scan was done they saw an aneursym that was life threatening. The Doc told him that he was still very fit for his age and could probably survive an op to fix it. He booked a day for the op but next day got an infected toe and had to cancel. He then did some more talking to the doc and realized that even if successful he would have weeks or even months in hospital. Since he wouldn't even have known about the aneurysm if not for the fall, he decided not to have the op after all. As he told us, "I hear that it is not a bad way to go".
My Dad, age 84, died the same way 4 years ago, still living at home, and when he was taken into hospital with a bad pain in his gut he was told that he had an aneurysm that was leaking and would burst very soon. He was offered an op with a 50/50 chance of survival but he declined, saying that he was ready to check out. At the time this decision upset my sisters who were with him but we all agree now that it was the right one. He died a few hours later. My sisters were taking turns being by his side in hospital and he asked the one that was with him to go get him another slice of toast after he'd eaten breakfast. When she returned a few minutes later the aneurysm had burst and he was dead. My only regret was that I didn't get to see him, he died just before I boarded a plane to go over.