3 ms·

As someone who both had a loved one take their own life as they progressed through symptoms of dementia in the last 6 months, and also had a loved one succumb t

As someone who both had a loved one take their own life as they progressed through symptoms of dementia in the last 6 months, and also had a loved one succumb to it in their 90s (and spent the latter quarter of their life in care without knowing who anyone was, what they enjoyed, or what year it was), I feel the former was far more dignified and overall more humane on both the family and loved ones, the person, and society - at least until we understand how to fix these illnesses. It’s sad that the argument of “but what if”, and slippery-slope fallacies immediately shut down even the most strict, bureaucracy-filled approach which requires the person to have no significant assets for a period of time (to be certain they aren’t being forced by family), or mandatory psychologist assessments. Please note, I said dignified. But because they weren’t able to notify or tell anyone their plans (I assume so as to not burden or implicate them), because they were unable to take the euthanasia path - we found them 3 days later. The weather was not cold. This is the reality that families face when no choice is made possible by the state.

microtherion 3y ago
Sorry for your losses! My exposure to these issues is rather more mixed. One of my grandmothers suffered from dementia. During the early stages, she was aware and suffered quite badly. But oddly enough, once the dementia was full blown, she lived several more years happier than she'd ever been, because the worries and restraints which had bothered her all her life were gone. Another relative died in the earlier stages of dementia, and his last two years were fairly miserable. And now there is a relative who is also in the earlier stages, and who is determined to avail themselves of assisted suicide rather than live with dementia. Speaking with their doctor, we learned how exactly the procedure works — in our country, it just requires a doctor's note, but the doctor will NOT issue that note if the patient already HAS full blown dementia (for obvious reasons). So you would have to request euthanasia relatively early in the process. My relative is convinced that they are just fine, and that it's really hackers and conspiracies out to get them. Should I press the issue and insist that they are in the earlier stages of dementia and should get euthanized before it's too late for that option? I've chosen not to that — if they make that decision, I will support it, but I will not attempt to influence them one way or the other beforehand.

microtherion 3y ago

Sorry for your losses! My exposure to these issues is rather more mixed. One of my grandmothers suffered from dementia. During the early stages, she was aware and suffered quite badly. But oddly enough, once the dementia was full blown, she lived several more years happier than she'd ever been, because the worries and restraints which had bothered her all her life were gone. Another relative died in the earlier stages of dementia, and his last two years were fairly miserable. And now there is a relative who is also in the earlier stages, and who is determined to avail themselves of assisted suicide rather than live with dementia. Speaking with their doctor, we learned how exactly the procedure works — in our country, it just requires a doctor's note, but the doctor will NOT issue that note if the patient already HAS full blown dementia (for obvious reasons). So you would have to request euthanasia relatively early in the process. My relative is convinced that they are just fine, and that it's really hackers and conspiracies out to get them. Should I press the issue and insist that they are in the earlier stages of dementia and should get euthanized before it's too late for that option? I've chosen not to that — if they make that decision, I will support it, but I will not attempt to influence them one way or the other beforehand.