JUST A THOUGHT - WHEN FEAR OF DEATH MAKES AN ASS OF THE LAW, LEADING IT TO DENY PEOPLE A DIGNIFIED DEATH. PART 3.
And so it was, that those and I who loved and respected this young man.
A man who was clearly enjoying his life and, as they say, would, while he was alive, 'be the life and soul of any party' he attended.
Who, during the time I had had the privilege of knowing him, would nearly always be smiling.
Having this irresistible twinkle in his eye, and would seemly for ever be uttering the immortal words, "What's up..." and finishing them with a smile.
Which would normally be promoted into a laugh. This young man who was not given to be bemoaning his terrible fate, who did not, atleast, not that I was aware of, curse the gods who had cursed him with this temporary living death.
Yes, so it was that we watched this young relative of ours, declined.
From being able to walk to having to use a wheelchair, which, initially he was able to propel himself, but, as the disease progressed, he had to rely on others and us to propel it for him.
This had to be done, as he gradually lost all the strength in his hands, legs and feet.
And, while all of this was going on, he was also losing his ability and capacity to talk.
So, not only would we be regaled with his "heyup......" but we would also be robbed of his engaging smile.
Even worse, as our young relative had now lost the power to speak and of speech, we could not he was not able to tell us about what was going on in his world.
What it was like, although it was clearly an extremely lonely world. A world in which he was cut off, completely, from all those who loved and cared for him.
Yes, he was entombed in the casket, the grave of his body, as, in time, his body could not consume or expel anything, by itself.
It required the ex machina to keep our young relative alive. Although, by this time, he was no more able to show any signs of life, as we often visited him in the nursing homes, and sat by him.
Watching, looking intently for signs of life. A sign of acknowledgement of who we were, and of what we were saying to him.
No, none at all, as the liquids traversed the tubes linking him to the life-giving machines, ensuring that the body over which he no longer had any control, was receiving some liquefied sustenance.
That his lung was being ventilated, so that it could take in the oxygen of life to keep his heart pumping blood and oxygen through his arteries and veins.
And, as he, being at the mercy of a body that no longer works for or against him, we would wonder, what of his mind? Where is our young relative; what has become of his verve, his passion, his spirit?
To be continued.
From being able to walk to having to use a wheelchair, which, initially he was able to propel himself, but, as the disease progressed, he had to rely on others and us to propel it for him.
This had to be done, as he gradually lost all the strength in his hands, legs and feet.
And, while all of this was going on, he was also losing his ability and capacity to talk.
So, not only would we be regaled with his "heyup......" but we would also be robbed of his engaging smile.
Even worse, as our young relative had now lost the power to speak and of speech, we could not he was not able to tell us about what was going on in his world.
What it was like, although it was clearly an extremely lonely world. A world in which he was cut off, completely, from all those who loved and cared for him.
Yes, he was entombed in the casket, the grave of his body, as, in time, his body could not consume or expel anything, by itself.
It required the ex machina to keep our young relative alive. Although, by this time, he was no more able to show any signs of life, as we often visited him in the nursing homes, and sat by him.
Watching, looking intently for signs of life. A sign of acknowledgement of who we were, and of what we were saying to him.
No, none at all, as the liquids traversed the tubes linking him to the life-giving machines, ensuring that the body over which he no longer had any control, was receiving some liquefied sustenance.
That his lung was being ventilated, so that it could take in the oxygen of life to keep his heart pumping blood and oxygen through his arteries and veins.
And, as he, being at the mercy of a body that no longer works for or against him, we would wonder, what of his mind? Where is our young relative; what has become of his verve, his passion, his spirit?
To be continued.
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