My grandmother passed away recently, after spending the last few years of her life fighting all sorts of maladies. She was touching 90 years of age. From the last 15-20 years or so, she would always bring up her impending death during every conversation. She would have one thing to say – “when will I die? I want to die”. Of course, the curse (or blessing) of choosing the moment of death was only given to Bhishma in the Mahabharata. So it was, that my grandmother would spend her years lying in wait of the moment when it would come to pass. Her last 4-5 years were spent on the bed, with a nurse/ maid for company. She had lost her memory, could only eat semi solid food and was yearning for a life support system. Eventually, old age and fever conspired to relieve her of her bond with life. Her condition towards the end begs the question – do humans really deserve this? We talk of quality of life being good and all the work that we do to maintain a dignity in life. What dignity ...
Top of the mind thoughts