There was a knock at the door a short while back, it was a relaitive from Europe.
Yeah,, he negotiated the US transit systems and made it to our house.
A awesome, teriffic guy. Fun and full of life.
He found a quack Doctor in Hollywood that would amputate his arthritic fingers.
The Doctors back in the UK all refused.
He drove pre-WW2 London Busses and WW2 Tanks in Africa with no power steering or syncro trannys and his fingers were shot,, the pain intense. I mean real brutal agony that morphine won't help pain.
So I drove him out for the proceedure, and he was happy he did it for the remaining 5 years of his life.
The pain was that bad.
Now,, another old relative is counting on us to help him die.
It's a tough situation, but his Parkisons and quality of life really sux.
He's a real drain on his kids, he's miserable and un-happy.
But,, what a cool character, A kinda person that would have never changed places with anyone,,, but he's through with life.
So were examining the LEGAL options.
Oregon it's legal,, but difficult.
Anyone else deal with this?
Wow...sorry you are facing such a hard subject..this hits close to home; my story (you asked for it):
January 2 years ago, my 56 year old mother (she was 17 when she had me and was the best friend of my wife & I...my Mom rocked!!) had a twitch in her eye.....a week later, I got a call from my stepfather that they went over the border from Phoenix to Mexico for a day on the beach and some fresh seafood......she had a siezure (thought it was a stroke) and could not talk.
He checked her into a Mexican clinic.....NIGHTMARE.....THAT STORY IS SELF EXPLANITORY....he finally drove her back to Phoenix (4-5 hours??) and I flew from Burbank to meet them at the house...she was talking slow and had a funny grin on her face!!! I looked at her and said "we were going to the ER and no arguing"..she said "I am fine"......4 x-rays, a cat scan and 2 huge tumors found in her brain...a few in her chest, adrenal gland, pancrease....WTF????? My Mom never even smoked (no cigarettes that is ). The oncologist gave her 6-8 weeks..WTF, she was fine last week. Doogie Howser (he was really young and looked 12) told me that the tumors were doubling every 10 days and that she would be paralyzed within a week....WTF..is this guy crazy???? Anyway, 1 week, right side, gone...next week, ability to speak, gone..next week her eyes could not focus.....we put her into a very nice Hospice facility. She made me promise that if she could not "shit, shower and eat" on her own, that I would help her "check out"....to make her happy and calm her nerves, I made that broken promise to her. OK, short of it was....we begged the hospice staff to help us; they said that although they could not kill her, they would administer as much narcotics as "necessary" to assist her in a smooth passing......they hit her with 10X the doses every 15 minutes as I held her hand...they dictated the day she would pass (Valentine's Day )....they were angels.
If your loved one is sick enough for full-time hospice care, make friends with the doctor and staff.....tell them your feelings..have you sick family member complete a "do not recessitate" order..have him make you the guardian....beg for mercy and they will deliver...hospice is run by real angels sent by God to do his work in our humble, human forum.
Hope this long-a$$ story helps..if not, it helped me!!!