On 20 Sep 2005 08:58:26 -0700, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Al A. says...

It stinks to have your body outlive your mind.

True, but only marginally. I spent the better part of this summer
helping my mom who was hospitalized several times for a variety
of serious problems. Eventually she went to rehab in a nursing
home, and while it was bad for her being so terribly disabled and
yet still acutely aware of what was going on. Worse because
she retired from her job as a nurse while she was hospitalized.

It was bad but we both realized that problems like your mom's
were a great deal tougher. I think that anything you do to
make her life better in any way at all, is a graceful act.
Like you say, in a situation like that, you really see who sticks
and who doesn't.

Jim


You are right, Jim, neither option is very palatable. That must have
been tough on your mom. I guess that if you keep you mind but your
body fails, it is agony for you. If your mind fails and your body
holds up, it is agony for those around you. At this point, my mother
is healthy and blissfully unaware of her condition. The blessing in it
all is that she smiles and laughs, though none of us know about what!
She is not one of those poor folks who lays about the place crying
that they want to go home or whatever.

And as far as seeing who sticks and who dosen't, the truly surprising
thing to me was the people that always seemed to be casual
aquaintences that came through in a huge way when we really needed
help. It was impressive in a few instances.

I learned great respect for anyone who walks that path. Every story
is different, but none are easy.

One of the most shocking parts is the number of people that will tell
you that you are nuts for taking care of your parent. That caused me
to lose a fair bit of respect for some people I once thought more
highly of.

Thanks for listening...

Al A.