I've lost another friend from my Florida senior park. Oh, he's still living and breathing with the aid of life support equipment but his brain has ceased functioning and the family will soon decide when to turn the machines off.
This was a good man who lived and thoroughly enjoyed his 80 some odd years of life. His quiet gentlemanly behaviour belied the fact that he loved to host parties. My favorite memories of him are of when he and his wife hosted their many, many parties and he'd make me the best gin and tonic in the world.
When I was told he was "brain dead" and on life support my heart sank because that's such a precarious situation for his family. They have to kiss their beloved husband and father goodbye and then be ones who say the words that will take him away from them forever. They'll probably never get over it.
None of us want to be kept alive solely by life support machinery but there are times when the choice of whether or not to pull the plug might be impossible to make. In the case of an elderly man who had a very active and enjoyable life it would be very difficult but in the case of a child or young adult I think I couldn't allow myself to give up.
When my husband was dying and his body was being ravaged by cancer I felt there was a possiblity he might end up on life support. In his case I knew that by ending life support I'd be ending his suffering so I didn't worry about it too much. But when the ending comes as swiftly and as devastating as it has for my friend, there's no way to plan how you'd act.
I hope his family is strong enough to let him go and I know he'll always be remembered as a fine gentleman and good human being. What more can we ask?
No comments:
Post a Comment