A caring article, professional, full of writer's touches, for example:

"to her facsimile of the last room of everyone." and

"The vast open dining room is as comfortless and empty as a cold old dance hall."

"The human bell that you don't have to ring, for attention."

I like it.

Pete

I agree with Pete. It is wonderfully written and illustrates the horror that awaits all who live too long.

I will never enter such a chamber of horrors and hopefully the Doctor of Death will have achieved legitimacy by the time I decide to pull the plug on this dubious worldly experience.

A nice dinner with friends, four pills, then off to bed where I can sleep forever without haunting dreams of what might have been.

That's the way I want it and it's my right to have it!

Nobody ever died of old age, except for the breakdowns, spasms, mental lapses and joints out of place that precipitate further breakdowns until one cannot get verticalised any more.

Very true David G, unfortunately after many years of handing out pamphlets to passers by for change to our ending, which I want as my departure, it falls on deaf ears in parliament, we must request that life saving methods be not applied when nearing the final exit, a percentage of people do not make these requests and so unfortunately lead a life of misery for them and family in nursing homes, you yourself are lucky that in time the laws hopefully will be changed to accommodate the request that you make, but for me time and change is fading away into the distance, unless I fly to Mexico and obtain a bottle of Nembutal , or perhaps a quick trip to Switzerland for the same result.
Nursing homes and slowly fading away in pain and dignity loss is not my choice of death

A lovely article, and very sad.
Unfortunately, by the time someone is dementing, it is too late to consider euthanasia.

If any of you have ever tried to care for a relative with dementia at home, you would know how difficult it is.

You need locks on all doors at all times, and you need to be able to stay up all night while the relative wanders the house and turns on the gas, or the hot plates, or hot water when they try to shower at 0300. They often become physically aggressive, and then spit out any medications you might give to calm them down.

These are just some of the challenges faced by tired, distressed carers.
And no amount of health dollars from our slim budget could afford 24 hour carers for all dementia patients to stay at home.

So we can't judge anyone who finally has to place their demented relative in an aged care facility.
We all do the best we can in such awful circumstances.