Yesterday, October 1, was my mother-in-law's 90th birthday. My wife and her sister flew out to the west coast to see her and to celebrate the occasion. Unfortunately, my wife reported that her mother was only vaguely aware that anyone was visiting her. She was certainly not celebrating.
Two or three years ago, my mother-in-law suffered a stroke and she has been only semi-coherent since then. It's hard to see a person just occupying space, her mind almost completely vacant.
If I ever reach a stage at which I am not conscious of the people around me, my surroundings, or the world at large, I hope to be able to quickly slip away. I would not want to simply exist, even if my existence is not painful in the traditional sense; simply existing, to me, would be painful enough.
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