Originally Posted by bobinjeffmo

For all those who think we're suppose to live on no matter how much you're suffering endlessly so we can prove just how tough we are, my hat is off to you. This is the inner strength I admire the most. But what about those of us who are not quite as strong as you are?

For all of us who've walked the halls of some nursing homes lined up with people pleading with all their hearts to be released from their suffering, I say there can be a few instances where the person should have the personal right to choose eternal slumber. There has to be some irony that medicine has advanced so far in creating new ways of extending life to the point where people are pleading to die. Gee, we're so lucky. By my values, it's just plain wrong.

As long as we very carefully control and make these choices regarding how far we're willing to push the medical envelope long before the actual incident finally arrives, I can't understand why we're better to our beloved dog or cat so they don't suffer needlessly than we are to ourselves.

With the laws the way they're written now, we don't have the right when to choose yet I thought that was what our country was founded on - personal freedom to choose what we want to do with our lives no matter how smart or stupid the end results might be. It was irresponsible spending habits that almost destroyed our economy 18 months ago because of people buying things because they deserve it, not because they earned it - but it all happened because of personal freedom to choose.

Perhaps I've become to much of a cynic, but I feel like a lot of the reasons we're forced into paying every last dime we worked our tails off for so we can keep a dying body alive is more about of corporate greed than some higher moral values. The profitability in medicine is just so phenomenal. Add that with the fact that most people think medical care is a right no matter what the costs, and we're watching our nation draining the very life out of itself for no other reason than to live another day.

Just let me ask this question. Why should I be forced into financially ruining my wife as we continually spend every last resource we have just so we can keep me alive when I'm more than happy to avoid these horrible consequences? Call it fate, but I'm right now having to make these choices. Am I willing to make my wife into a pauper so we can buy another 3 - 7 years of mediocre quality of life for myself or am I just trying to be a responsible husband who cares by avoiding more costs we really can't afford? I'm still on the fence I assure you, but these are some of the hardest questions we'll ever have to answer.

Everyone has their own internal limits at where life is worth living and when it's not. I'm just asking, why I can't be released from further suffering for both myself and my family except by passivity (stopping medical care) thus creating even more pain and cost when we all know just one little shot of happy juice that would avoid so much more suffering. I'm not saying I have the answers, but I think they're worth asking and seeking out. Alright, now bring on the spoiled tomato's, I've got it coming. Bob.