Jakub Pawłowicz

Posts » On dying

I recently attended a funeral. The person who died was a 92 years old man who spent his last ~40 years fighting paralysis, then diabetes, which cost him both of his legs, then disability, then inability to leave this world on his own terms, then dementia interleaved with Covid-19.

I clearly remember my late grandfather, who, on numerous occasions in his late 80s, told me he didn’t want to live anymore.

When people are healthy they often want to live long, but when they fall ill they don’t hesitate to wish for death, as it’ll save them from suffering.

There’s also the other side of such stories - those who take care of ill people have to be for them for long, be it months, years, or decades. And yet they have to persist in helping, often taking whole family’s effort to keep the ill person living another day.

Our society came lengths to extend human lifespan with drugs and standard of life, but we’re truly cruel and inhumane when it comes to helping those, who want to leave this world on their own terms.

I am 40 now and doing well, and I want to keep going as long as I give more than I take. I sincerely hope I will never be in a situation where my family suffers because of me.

Tip: You can use & or j & k to navigate between posts.