On Death and Dying

[Hibernian]

Interesting read. Of course, we all have only months to live, but most of us act otherwise. Be grateful for love and do stuff that matters....the paperwork is rarely where the action is.

 

[Amethyst]

So, whenever I hear or read Old people discussed in the third person, I mentally change it to 2nd person..."our" calorie intake goes down, "we" get quiet, etc. We just run down, like an old dog or cat.

Next to suddenly keeling over, the way one of my aunts did at 70 (thus saving her from the family fate of dementia), I can't think of a better way to go.

In talking with the geriatric M.D. at my aunt's nursing home, they can easily tell when their days are numbered. Their calorie intake gradually goes down, and they just get quiet in the days up to their passing. And it's a blessing if they're not in terrible pain--and just check out quietly.

 

[Jerry1]

Edit: Thank you for sharing this article. One of the things on my "to do" list since moving to Fly Over Country was to get a library card. I had put it off and put it off...reason after reason. Well, today...I went online to see what it took to get a card and well...it took about 45 seconds. With that, I was able to read the article you shared and thank you for that. It was indeed a worthy read and I am quite joyed to finally have access to the library.

Can someone point me to how this works? I have a library card, but not sure how to use it to read articles. I assume this is online reading and not going into the library, but not sure where to go from there.

 

[finnski1]

Thanks for both of those articles.
My old tendency would be to run and get in that travel that we have put off, and I quickly realized that squandering my days in aluminum tubes and crowded airports and moldy museums, cathedrals and ruins and that perfect beach somewhere would be a waste of what I had left. Will be a waste of what we really do have left.

Not to mention when you only have months to live you are almost certainly not going to be in condition to do all those things. I will be happy to just be hanging out with loved ones and my dog at home. Hopefully with it enough to savor those moments.

 

[gattara]

Edit: Thank you for sharing this article. One of the things on my "to do" list since moving to Fly Over Country was to get a library card. I had put it off and put it off...reason after reason. Well, today...I went online to see what it took to get a card and well...it took about 45 seconds. With that, I was able to read the article you shared and thank you for that. It was indeed a worthy read and I am quite joyed to finally have access to the library.

You're welcome; this made my day, glad to have helped. I am able to access Consumer Reports and other magazines and newspapers from the library as well but I suspect different libraries subscribe to different publications

 

[gattara]

Can someone point me to how this works? I have a library card, but not sure how to use it to read articles. I assume this is online reading and not going into the library, but not sure where to go from there.

On my library's main page, I find various publications under the "Research" tab, including "Magazines & Newspapers". If it's not obvious on your particular library's site, give your local library a call and ask for help. Not sure that all libraries offer the same publications. Good luck.

 

[gattara]

..."our" calorie intake goes down, "we" get quiet, etc. We just run down, like an old dog or cat.

Appropriate wording. For the last 2 weeks, my nearly 18 year old cat was doing exactly this. After much back and forth w/vet appointments, I had him put to sleep on Sunday due to strongly suspected gastrointestinal lymphoma. Hardly eating, quiet ... yes, just run down. Very hard to watch with a pet.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Can someone point me to how this works? I have a library card, but not sure how to use it to read articles. I assume this is online reading and not going into the library, but not sure where to go from there.

I'm sure it depends on the library system, but mine has a plethora of online databases that are accessible from home once I log onto the system. Newspapers, magazines, well...I could spend HOURS typing them all out.

I will admit I spent well over 4 hours searching out and reading news articles about my past family members this morning. Reading articles from the 1880s-1910s is absolutely fascinating. Here is a portion telling readers about where people have gone. Nonetheless, it is somewhat depressing to know that all of these folks have most likely been dead for years.

 

[Sunset]

Not to mention when you only have months to live you are almost certainly not going to be in condition to do all those things. I will be happy to just be hanging out with loved ones and my dog at home. Hopefully with it enough to savor those moments.

Even if a person was healthy enough to travel, knowing that I would be dead months later, seems to put a cloud over going to see sites.
"Oh where's the waiter, doesn't he know I don't have time to wait."