I have several centenarians on both sides of my family. Within that bunch are some incredibly positive people. Even with those, life seems to begin early stages of grim-ness at 85-90.What if it meant you kept aging, but just never died? I'm thinking life gets pretty grim by the time you hit 300 and you're looking like Yoda with leprosy.
The day you die is the good age to die.
Lees
One of my favorite quips comes from a Bruce Dern movie, Posse.There is, but it is very difficult to determine it.
Then you read it wrong.From where I sit, kinda reads like you did.
Of course.Then you read it wrong.
It's a bit morbid, but is there an ideal age to die ?
Probably not. When I've had family members that started suffering from that, they grew paranoid and confused.Will your deteriorating mental faculties know when to make that call?
85It's a bit morbid, but is there an ideal age to die ?
I have several centenarians on both sides of my family. Within that bunch are some incredibly positive people. Even with those, life seems to begin early stages of grim-ness at 85-90.
I'm 78 and I've seen a lot of that happen already, its a lonely, isolated feeling.I once watched a documentary where they talked to centenarians from all over the world and when asked what the hardest thing about being 100 years old, pretty much to a person they said it was losing everyone around them. Your spouse, your siblings, everyone you grew up with, probably even some of your children - by the time you hit 100, you've probably seen them all die. That takes a toll, no matter how positive your outlook. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be immortal and have to go through that time after time.
I'm 78 and I've seen a lot of that happen already, its a lonely, isolated feeling.
You must have at some point stumbled on the secret to life.As to myself my mood mirrors to a t that of the Ecclesistic in the Bible.
I will welcome death the day after I lose my sense of humor.
It depends on individual circumstances. I've gone 14 years beyond your 75 deadline - an apt word here) and don't regret it, so cheer up. Your gloom overdose in unjustified. Life is worth living if one can still be of service to others.Excellent article, well worth the read with some useful statistics persuading me that aiming for 60 might be better than 50
"At 75 and beyond, I will need a good reason to even visit the doctor and take any medical test or treatment, no matter how routine and painless. And that good reason is not “It will prolong your life.” I will stop getting any regular preventive tests, screenings, or interventions. I will accept only palliative—not curative—treatments if I am suffering pain or other disability."This means colonoscopies and other cancer-screening tests are out—and before 75. If I were diagnosed with cancer now, at 57, I would probably be treated, unless the prognosis was very poor. But 65 will be my last colonoscopy. No screening for prostate cancer at any age. (When a urologist gave me a PSA test even after I said I wasn’t interested and called me with the results, I hung up before he could tell me. He ordered the test for himself, I told him, not for me.) After 75, if I develop cancer, I will refuse treatment. Similarly, no cardiac stress test. No pacemaker and certainly no implantable defibrillator. No heart-valve replacement or bypass surgery. If I develop emphysema or some similar disease that involves frequent exacerbations that would, normally, land me in the hospital, I will accept treatment to ameliorate the discomfort caused by the feeling of suffocation, but will refuse to be hauled off."What about simple stuff? Flu shots are out. Certainly if there were to be a flu pandemic, a younger person who has yet to live a complete life ought to get the vaccine or any antiviral drugs. A big challenge is antibiotics for pneumonia or skin and urinary infections. Antibiotics are cheap and largely effective in curing infections. It is really hard for us to say no. Indeed, even people who are sure they don’t want life-extending treatments find it hard to refuse antibiotics. But, as Osler reminds us, unlike the decays associated with chronic conditions, death from these infections is quick and relatively painless. So, no to antibiotics."
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I've seen enough of my mother caring for her parents to hope that she feels the same wayTerrible thing to say out loud, and if it comes to it I'll probably end up doing the right thing, but I imagine not many people particularly want to care for their elders. Retirement homes wouldn't be so numerous if they did.
On your.100th birthday while snorting coke off a naked hooker.
Nice, thoughtful post.
My father turned 90 back in March. My mother passed away at 86 a year and a half ago. He still drives, but only to the places he knows how to get to and get home from, even though he has navigation in his Infinity. He has his routine- has morning coffee, smokes a few cigarettes throughout the day and evening, reads the paper, and watches Royals games and every crime show on television. He keeps up on the laundry. His short term memory is very poor, and his long term memory is hazy when it comes to remembering people. He writes himself notes and he’s lost without his calendar. He does remember most personal events like when he was growing up, when he served in the Navy, etc. He was always a great story teller.
He’ll never leave his townhouse. Take him out somewhere else, and he gets real confused. My brother lives with him, but it’s becoming more difficult. Dad is frail and has taken a few falls. But he can manage himself in his own place. Outside of aches and pains, no real physical issues. His blood pressure has always been normal.
He’s a tough old guy, and it’s hard watching him decline like this. But when I call him, he’s still cheerful on the phone. I’m heading to Kansas City to spend a couple of days with him.
My sisters, brother, and I figure he’ll go when he’s ready. It still may be a few years away. Hopefully, peacefully in his sleep.
Excellent article, well worth the read with some useful statistics persuading me that aiming for 60 might be better than 50
"At 75 and beyond, I will need a good reason to even visit the doctor and take any medical test or treatment, no matter how routine and painless. And that good reason is not “It will prolong your life.” I will stop getting any regular preventive tests, screenings, or interventions. I will accept only palliative—not curative—treatments if I am suffering pain or other disability."This means colonoscopies and other cancer-screening tests are out—and before 75. If I were diagnosed with cancer now, at 57, I would probably be treated, unless the prognosis was very poor. But 65 will be my last colonoscopy. No screening for prostate cancer at any age. (When a urologist gave me a PSA test even after I said I wasn’t interested and called me with the results, I hung up before he could tell me. He ordered the test for himself, I told him, not for me.) After 75, if I develop cancer, I will refuse treatment. Similarly, no cardiac stress test. No pacemaker and certainly no implantable defibrillator. No heart-valve replacement or bypass surgery. If I develop emphysema or some similar disease that involves frequent exacerbations that would, normally, land me in the hospital, I will accept treatment to ameliorate the discomfort caused by the feeling of suffocation, but will refuse to be hauled off."What about simple stuff? Flu shots are out. Certainly if there were to be a flu pandemic, a younger person who has yet to live a complete life ought to get the vaccine or any antiviral drugs. A big challenge is antibiotics for pneumonia or skin and urinary infections. Antibiotics are cheap and largely effective in curing infections. It is really hard for us to say no. Indeed, even people who are sure they don’t want life-extending treatments find it hard to refuse antibiotics. But, as Osler reminds us, unlike the decays associated with chronic conditions, death from these infections is quick and relatively painless. So, no to antibiotics."
Before I become a burden to my son.
Having cared for my own parents and now my in laws - I don’t ever want my son to have to deal with it or be burdened by having to care for me.
Excellent article, well worth the read with some useful statistics persuading me that aiming for 60 might be better than 50
"At 75 and beyond, I will need a good reason to even visit the doctor and take any medical test or treatment, no matter how routine and painless. And that good reason is not “It will prolong your life.” I will stop getting any regular preventive tests, screenings, or interventions. I will accept only palliative—not curative—treatments if I am suffering pain or other disability."This means colonoscopies and other cancer-screening tests are out—and before 75. If I were diagnosed with cancer now, at 57, I would probably be treated, unless the prognosis was very poor. But 65 will be my last colonoscopy. No screening for prostate cancer at any age. (When a urologist gave me a PSA test even after I said I wasn’t interested and called me with the results, I hung up before he could tell me. He ordered the test for himself, I told him, not for me.) After 75, if I develop cancer, I will refuse treatment. Similarly, no cardiac stress test. No pacemaker and certainly no implantable defibrillator. No heart-valve replacement or bypass surgery. If I develop emphysema or some similar disease that involves frequent exacerbations that would, normally, land me in the hospital, I will accept treatment to ameliorate the discomfort caused by the feeling of suffocation, but will refuse to be hauled off."What about simple stuff? Flu shots are out. Certainly if there were to be a flu pandemic, a younger person who has yet to live a complete life ought to get the vaccine or any antiviral drugs. A big challenge is antibiotics for pneumonia or skin and urinary infections. Antibiotics are cheap and largely effective in curing infections. It is really hard for us to say no. Indeed, even people who are sure they don’t want life-extending treatments find it hard to refuse antibiotics. But, as Osler reminds us, unlike the decays associated with chronic conditions, death from these infections is quick and relatively painless. So, no to antibiotics."
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I've seen enough of my mother caring for her parents to hope that she feels the same wayTerrible thing to say out loud, and if it comes to it I'll probably end up doing the right thing, but I imagine not many people particularly want to care for their elders. Retirement homes wouldn't be so numerous if they did.
Depends on the quality of life, I guess?
I've seen a 100 year old man still marching at the vets parade! Attending family get-togethers.
A couple of days before he died (107 years old)....................he even asked me to make him a favorite dish.
And at what age might that be? 10? 20? . . . 99?
Life threatening afflictions happen at any age. I hope to be among those who see it as an interruption, "I still got things to do." But current health and hospitalizations make me fully aware I could at the flip of a switch find myself among those feeling relief. Your mileage may vary.
I'd say 10 years older than I am at the time asked.
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