Friday, July 9, 2010

Remarks on death: its inevitable....so what


So, I had to go to the nursing home yesterday to meet a few new patients. Delightful gals.....one is 92 & the other is 102. Huh. They're gorgeous, sharp, only a touch of dementia. Instant adoration on my part~I love me some older folks! So, there's the matter of an abdominal aortic aneurysm with one of these sweetpeas....basically, you can just look at her little belly & watch the pulsations-that thing could go like a blow-hole any second....or not. Someone inquires, "Will it hurt if that bursts?....Me: "Will it hurt? Probably, all of her blood will leak into her belly & she'll pass out in about 45 seconds....probably it'll be painful (what do I know about an AAA rupturing & how long it'll take to go & whether it'll hurt?).... probably about a minute, give or take (probably not worse than childbirth)....but considering ways to go when you're 92, I'd say, its not bad." "Most death hurts, right?" Person: "Well you better tell her friend, she's worried." Me: "That's so ridiculous, I didn't even think of it." Needless to say, I got the stink eye for this comment to which I replied, "Dang, I can't ensure that people have spontaneous painless natural deaths; we've all gotta die of something." I have enough on my plate. Letting people go when its their time, that's something we should be more on board with. It's ok if someone dies naturally when they're over 90 years old; if you are surprised that someone over 90 dies....you are delusional & you should see someone about that. That's weird.

What is our preoccupation with letting our elders go? I won't say its not sad, but come on now, show us those coping skills, death is gonna happen, it's not the great unknown outcome. I say, live life & be happy for those who have! Death is for certain, tomorrow is not.


"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions & billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it." ~Mark Twain


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