OK, so with the healthcare discussion and the end of life issues and quality of life issues being addressed, I am just pondering the question of when a person or the person's caregiver might decide it's OK to end things like feeding, ventilators, etc.
Perhaps it would be useful for us all to explore the whole end of life orders stuff -- I don't know that any healthy young parent would have these kind of orders now.
I am still struggling a little with dealing with the ethics of the end of my mom's life -- she had a stroke and could no longer eat or swallow (she would choke) and at that time she was not given food or water and she basically starved to death. (Ugh. It hurts to write that out.) Anyway, I can look at it from the standpoint of if we were out in nature she would have died that way anyway. But still it's not easy at all. My mom had advanced Alzheimer's disease and she was near the maximum of life expectancy after a diagnosis, so it was close to the end.
I'm not asking to talk about my specifics with my mom, she's gone and I am mostly peaceful with the whole thing.
I am not sure even what the question is -- I believe this is up the individual -- in the case of my mom, I think my brother did do what my mom would have wanted, and she had a living will and he went with what she had requested.
What would you request? Maybe we should talk through the language of these things, although each case is so individual..... I just feel like talking about this more and I am interested in your experiences and insights. Thanks!
(Hoping for another great discussion -- in the meantime, I will get back to the housework! I love ignoring the dishes and carpet cleaning duties to chat with all of you!)