When do the elderly have the right to die?
My husband and I were off to California and visited someone dear to me; she is 96 years old, and due to a tired and worn out body, confined to a wheelchair or bed.
She told me that she just wanted to be done, and then brought up a very good point: we force our elderly humans to live beyond quality years, but allow our pets the luxury to cross over…why can’t we do that for our elderly? Especially when their life consists of never ending medical tests, eating and sleeping; waking hours are given over to TV since hands and eyes no longer work comfortably.
Quality or Quantity?
For pets, we go by quality of life, not quantity; for humans, we go by quantity, not quality. What kind of life is that?
Many years ago, I was told that one old Native American custom had been: when an elder felt they could no longer contribute, or felt that they had become a burden, they would go out to the wilderness, lie down and release their soul, vacating their physical shell.
A lot of us had lost that connection with self to do that…perhaps it’s time for humans to relearn this, and honor the right for our elders to go when they are ready…
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