I had to make a decision that nearly destroyed me.
The decision was painful and it was Tragic Irony.
Mom gave me life and I had to make the decision that ended hers.
She was one of the greatest women in the world, that's for sure.
When the doctors attempted to wean her off the respirator, they had to put her back on it to keep her from dying.
They saw that she couldn't be weaned after three or four times trying.
I didn't make the decision alone, my brother had to make it as well.
After she passed, life became so intolerable that it was pure Hell.
She suffered so much and my brother and I couldn't allow that to continue.
I would've rather lost my own life than to see hers end and that is certainly true.
The decision to take her off the respirator was ironic and it made our hearts break.
I hope and pray that the decision we made is one that you'll never have to make.
[Dedicated to Agnes Johnson (1948-2013) who passed away on March 6, 2013.]
'Let her slip away' was the advice of the doctor, when it was suggested my 90-year old mother on a hospital bed refused to eat and the only alternative was a drip-feed. I was shocked by the suggestion, but also found myself consenting. The medical professsion was carefull to cover its tracks, though; the death certicate gave cause of death as 'pneumonia'.
