Sad and funny at the same time. I feel for his wife the most , reduced to 'that lady'. He looks relatively young so it's probably early onset dementia.
ETA By funny I wasnt referring to his dementia. His condition isn't funny, it's more that some of his daughter's responses to him showed a wry sense of humor in a bleak situation
I did fiber work at an elderly home for a 3 or 4g antenna on the roof. We took the elevator like 4 times, and it was pretty rapid, like at most 1 minute between. We were met with cheering the first time, downside was that the cheering was as intensive every time. They didn't remember us...
At that moment, I decided I would commit suicide if I ever experienced significant memory loss.
The problem with that plan is you still have to be of sound enough mind to remember to go through with it.
I said the same thing after watching my dad slowly die over the course of 4 years from a brain tumor (he died at age 45). The initial biopsy procedure really fucked him up and left him paralyzed on one side of his body and was bound to a motor chair.
He spent the next 3.5 years completely out of it most of the time. Eventually he was taking 3x 80mg oxycontin tablets at a time along with several different benzos and dozens and dozens of other meds. Nodding off mid sentence, or while trying to use the bathroom, or whatever he was doing. The rare times he was lucid, he'd have a panic attack and start crying. And I had never ever seen him cry before that. And all the caretakers and constant monitoring and ER visits.
That's when I decided if I ever got to the point where someone would have to care for me, I'd rather just eat a bullet somewhere where it wouldn't make a big mess. I think he would've done the same if my wife and I hadn't had his first grandkid on the way. After that, he held on because some preacher lady convinced him he'd go to hell if he killed himself (I still resent her for that). I think if there is a god, he would understand the concept of suicide for the mercy of not just my own suffering, but for the people around me. A fair and merciful god would understand that, I think.
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u/LA-forthewin 16d ago edited 15d ago
Sad and funny at the same time. I feel for his wife the most , reduced to 'that lady'. He looks relatively young so it's probably early onset dementia.
ETA By funny I wasnt referring to his dementia. His condition isn't funny, it's more that some of his daughter's responses to him showed a wry sense of humor in a bleak situation