bigtakilla said:
SvennoJ said:
My wife and I have agreed not to keep each other alive in such a case. Yet that is a clear cut case, wish it would all be that simple.
I have 2 family members with late stage Alzheimers. They can't take care of themselves anymore, don't make sense anymore, can't do anything anymore and their aggression needs to be controlled with drugs. One occasionally relives the horrible things that happened as a child over and over again, the other some times declares not to want to be there yet otherwise only says random words, is wheelchair bound and needs to be fed. Are they brain dead? They don't recognize anyone anymore, don't know who they are anymore, can't communicate and only seem to relive some random early memories.
Is it torture to keep people with late stage Alzheimers alive? It can still take years with no hope of recovery. I don't think I would want to live that way, yet I'll probably not even be aware of what's happening to me if that ever happens. It certainly doesn't seem like they are aware of their situation. Yeah I would prefer brain death and get the plug pulled over living with Alzheimers. |
No, they are not brain dead. Being brain dead means the brain no longer sends or recieves neurological pulses to and from the rest of the body. When that happens, the family members are dead. If they are still alive, they are not brain dead.
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No offense, but if you haven't been around these kind of people then you really can't relate. The person you know is gone, sometimes there will be a spark, but otherwise it's just a shell of a body that is frightend, confused, anxious and so drugged up they just sit ther drooling. As otherwise they just harm themselves and others.
