Joan Jett still makes me drool.

life aint always beautiful.......

as long as Im not a burden on my family..idc what happens when i get old. i would just be happy to make it to an old age. 100 is my goal. and i do hope my mind is still functioning. and that my daughter occasionally paints my toenails for me. and that my toenails arent yellow and icky.

and that i still have a high functioning brain power.

and that i have enough strength to make it to the bathroom when i need to go. and if i wear a diaper..well seriosuly? i probably will refuse that thing for sexy granny panties.

Im really looking forward to wearing my thong when Im 90!!!!

Great Granny and Grandma said,...Gettin old is not for sissy's.

would you want that for a child? knowing they can't smile at you or cry? that there will be no play time, no good morning hugs or goodnight kisses? It may well be the most difficult thing in the world to let go of a child...I know
but why keep a child in this world who cannot know even the safety and security and love you have to offer them?

who am i to decide the quality of another's life?

who am i to decide how, or to what capacity, a person feels love? security? safety?

you know when your baby isn't there...when its just their body..it doesn't take away the pain, but you know

The brain is a funny thing.....in alzheimers/dementia patients I see it all the time. A flicker of their old selves......appears out of no where. And then retreats.

Quality? There isnt alot of quality but for those few moments....

wowzer...babies and little children...sucking nutrition down a g tube...sometime breathing through a tube in there trachea...unable to move. unable to speak...and most likely a ward of the state.

institionalized for the rest of their lives.

ive seen it, taken care of it numerous times. that being the worse case scenario...although there are others less severe. i did watch a mother take care of her 20 year old...she liked orange crush though a straw and some candy i forget what kind. and all of her doll babies. quality of life laying in a bed with profound mental retardation and other severe coexisting diagnoses.
it breaks my heart.

and i would never be able to watch my own child like that.

omg..just saying...peace outta this thread now.

ive taken care of probably twenty 'kids' like that.

only twice have i seen family involved.
that mother.
and a 60 year old lady...her sisters took care of her and visited often.

of course i see them in hospitals..not in their nursing home.

so, what is to be done? would you (in general) just terminate their life?

there's an old case, robert latimer, in saskatchewan, canada, who was convicted of murder for euthanizing his retarded daughter.

i've never been in that situation and i hope to God i never am; however, i can't see that i would do anything except deal with what i was given and try to find the lesson in it.
~~~

nice thread by the way OP (be seeing you )

think about it in a good way.... you could sh!t yourself and have your kids change it as payback...

haha but you'd better be REALLY good to your kids then as they are growing up, otherwise you just might be sitting in your crap for days!

it would depend on the degree of severity.

and my degree of rights. i would not let them give my child a trach....not my newborn.

other than that.......I would take care of my child..and not hand them over to the state.
to be stuck in a sepcilaty care home forever.


i take care of old people mostly...not a pediatric nurse. BUT when i worked in a small town ICU we did get the vent dependant babies frequently.

After working for Hospice I can honestly say that I've seen many special people be loving and supportive right up to their last breath. I can only hope that when my time comes, I can be as dignified.

it's easy to say I would or I wouldnt do this or that

but until it hits you you're only speculating

I suppose I could "throw in the towel" because I have to have dialysis to stay alive and don't have the strength to do things I used to could do

but then I would miss out on a lot of cool stuff going on right now

I have been able to see life looking sideways for a good portion of my life. I have served in the Military and as a Government Contractor for almost 40 years. Life for me, is for living and going forward all the time. I have had times where my life has dropped kicked me and when I landed, it kept beating me. But I have never thought about it as..."all down hill" from anypoint. In March of 08 I went to Afganistan and Iraq and the mission did not go well. I am still recouping for injuries,...but as long as I can put my feet on the ground in the morning, I walk forward...The man that was 2 feet away from me had "no say in the matter" and was killed.
Don't get me wrong,....If I am in the scooter, married to the O2 tank, or in diapers,....."I" will choose my way out of the situation....But until then.....Walk forward like there is no tomarrow, because at any second you may have "no say in the matter"

Life is good

Exactly Robin!!

None of us know how we will feel until we r in that situation!

If theres one thing we cant speculate on, its our feelings.

yes at this point i think i would just take my dad out back and spray him off

My son is severly delayed developmentally. He is 9 yrs old, cannot walk, talk or do much for himself. He was born with a terminal genetic disorder and is mildy autistic. He has kidney problems, visual impairment, potential for seizures, low muscle tone. He needs me to do most things for him, he relys on me, his teachers, his therapists to help him everyday. I could never turn my back on him, unlike his father who just "can't deal with it". He doesn't remember things that he learns without constant repetition.

People who have been through it, know how I feel. People who haven't, just really don't understand if they can or can't handle that in their life. I can't see my life without my son in it and I really don't even want to think about the day that the syndrome claims his life and takes him from me. I know there are plenty out there who are alot worse off than my son and I thank God that he has kept him so healthy. But even if his health gets worse, I'd still never walk away from him or find a way to end his life.