antelope valley I'm not talking about just Euthanising every old person, some are perfectly happy well into old age, whether it be in a care home or within their own home. Unfortunately though, this is not the case for many.
As a previous poster pointed out, adding something to the DNR, a statement that if/when something as awful as Dementia presents itself, the choice to be euthanised. When animals are known to be suffering they are put to sleep, why can't humans be afforded the same right? We have more self awareness and supposed free will than animals but in most countries still do not have the right to decide when we die. In fact, on this basis, animals do not have the ability to consent to be euthanised, so it's even less 'voluntary'.
If you saw the types of things I have to see on a daily basis, perhaps you might think differently. We had a young woman come to our home the beginning of this year, she is only in her early 50's- gregarious, vibrant, always singing, chatting, smiling, but in the early stages of Dementia.
Said woman is now mute, bedbound, and refuses more often than not to eat. I say eat, but her meals are now reduced to a liquified meal through a beaker, of which carers have to sit and trick her into opening her mouth to take as she refuses to take it. She is doubly incontinent and needs turning every 2 hours to prevent pressure sores.
Within weeks of entering our home, she became depressed as she wanted to talk to other residents, but the vast majority are too far gone to hold a coherent conversation, so she slowly stopped initiating conversation. Carers were too busy due to understaffing to hold full conversations with her, so she gradually went into her shell. After only a few months she was aimlessly wandering around corridors looking confused and upset. Her husband eventually stopped coming to visit her as she often became aggressive, and as much as this is often a symptom of Dementia, I'm inclined to believe it was more down to carers only having small time slots to give personal care to residents, meaning that they often have to rush and coerce/force residents to dress, which causes distress. Many residents initially fight against this and become aggressive when carers enter the room as a defence mechanism.
Many other residents get stuck in a loop, which is also distressing- many get stuck reliving trauma- one lady used to constantly shout at us to bring her baby girl back, that her baby was taken away. She cried endlessly. She is calmer these days but often asks for her Mother, then he remembers her Mum is dying in hospital and becomes inconsolable (her Mum died years ago). Another shouts 'help me' on repeat all day.
The way in which some of these people are forced to live is, quite frankly, barbaric. Why should they be forced to continue living? What is the need to prolong life at the cost of the individual.
These people are often being kept alive INVOLUNTARILY. Why not offer the choice, the right to die VOLUNTARILY?