Thank you all for your warm, loving prayers and well wishes. When one rejoices, all rejoice. And I am very much with you, Bill D. \ When my brother-in-law went into the hospital, he told my sister that he didn't want to go onto life support, and if they put him on it, it was his wish that he be disconnected. By the time that my sister and their kids all went up to the hospital yesterday, he had gained enough awareness of what was going on that he told the Doctor that he didn't want to be disconnected. Whatever happens from this point froward, my brother-in-law removed a terrible burden from my sister's shoulders. He has chosen to live, with all the risks and pain that entials.
You read about this kinda stuff all the time, and if you're like me you probably don't give a lot of thought to it. When faced with it (or trying to comfort and support someone who is) you realize what a horrendous, difficult decision it is to have to make for someone else's life. Life is always simpler in the abstract. It only gets complicated when you have to live it.
In the last two or three years, I have shared heartaches and joys with many other Catters who have brought their stories here. They are always a good reminder of what is of true value. I knew a woman who bitched endlessly because her Mercedes wasn't the color she wanted. In the meantime, her husband was near-killing himself working on a job where he was ridiculed and demeaned. He told his kids "I'm worth more dead than alive" because he had $100,000 in life insurance. That couple was probably the poorest couple I ever met. Gated community aside..