QOTW-Choosing to live... or not
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QOTW-Choosing to live... or not
| Wed, 08-17-2005 - 6:21pm |
I'm sorry I've been a bit absent lately. My best friend's mother died on Monday and she has been staying with me. My schedule is all screwed up!
Here's what happened: Her Mom had hip replacement in May and during the surgery, suffered a series of strokes that went undetected by the medical team. Consequently, she was paralyzed and unable to do the PT and would have ended up spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Mom decided that at 80, if she couldn't dance anymore she didn't want to live, so made a conscious decision to die. And she did.
Do you think it's possible to will yourself to die, just as the "will to live" has been responsible for seemingly miraculous recoveries?
Looking forward to your posts...
Bink


Bink, I'm really sorry for your friend, that must be very hard for her.
was the plan before surgery?????????????? look at the people who say,
I want to see my grandchild married and after the wedding, they leave
the planet etc etc. Sorry you had to go thru this, hope your friend is OK.
Love, Leila
Yes, one can will themselves to die.
I often wondered this too, can we will ourselves to live or to die?
My oldest sister told me that my mother always said if she ever had to be confined to bed, she felt she'd be a burden to the family, and she'd want to go. That's exactly what happened, when Mom had kidney failure, she died about year after. My sis recently revealed my mother's feelings when my father was in his last days, as if to say to me if Dad wants to go, then I should release him. As my father aged, he emphasized that he wanted to die at home, and not be kept alive by machines at a hospital or facility. He lived up to his wishes.
I've been told by health professionals that in their experience one cannot will oneself to die. Some people expect to live a long life yet they don't. There are also people who are very depressed with their lives, some attempt suicide, yet they survive. I do think (for some reason) some of us know how life will end for them, it's part of their plan.
So ... I'm still unsure.
-gnd-
First of all, (((HUGS))) to your friend and to you for helping her through this tough time!
I also agree with pretty much everyone else here, that you can make a decision to "let go", as it were. I know that DH's grandfather did just that very thing about .... 2 months ago now, I think. He wanted to see me and DH back together. When I found out he was in the hospital and not expected to live I went to visit him almost every night after work. He was to the point where he couldn't talk and was on so much morphine that he was asleep most of the time, but when he would see me there if he was awake he would smile and try to talk to me. :-) Sweet, sweet man. He finally let go when I told him a few days later that DH and I had just decided to get back together. He shed a few tears and squeezed my hand and the next day, he was gone. Miss that man....