If Only The End Were Near

Many years ago, my friend's dog was mauled by two younger and stronger animals - leaving her lame in her hind legs. We took her to the vet regularly, treated her injuries with an infrared lamp, applied creams, and administered pain meds. Eventually, she lost control of her bowels and had to lay in her own filth, waiting for someone to clean her.

During a visit to the vet, he asked me a question that I remember decades later: "Are you keeping her alive to make yourself feel better?"

I discussed this with my friend who, even though he agreed, could not bring himself to have her euthanized. The next day she received a quick and nearly painless injection and I stroked her head and watched her trusting eyes close for the last time as she died a dignified death.

After countless cigarettes and a double heart bypass, my grandfather developed emphysema and became pretty much housebound. He was relatively weak, prone to dizzy spells, quick-witted, brilliant, enamored with ice cream, and enjoying life as much as his 94-year-old body would allow. This all changed in an instant when a stroke paralyzed much of his throat and a serious bout of pneumonia left him gasping for the tiniest breath of air, choking on water, and utterly incapable of swallowing any food.

In the blink of an eye, he was bedridden, with a pipe in his stomach and a mask on his face - waiting for someone to clean him.

The man who had taught me how to play chess, love naughty limericks, and appreciate a decent single malt Scotch, was told that he would never see his home again.

He's been begging anyone who will listen to please end his life, to release him from his suffering, to give him some dignity. But where he lives it's illegal and anyone that helps him will risk very serious repercussions.

As a society, many of us have decided to make a blanket rule against killing, deciding that it's "bad" regardless of the reason, denying those who desperately need mercy any consideration because it makes us feel better about our unblemished moral statutes.

Update

I published this post on 8 April 2023. On the 18th of August 2023, my grandfather passed away after more than 4 months of indignity and suffering.

Rest in Peace Grandad. I will love you always.