Today I transferred my father from a rehab facility to a full blown nursing home...something that he said he never wanted.
Memories of a strong willed, opinionated, mischevious man who loved being around younger people flashed through my mind as I gazed upon this frail...almost helpless person that had taken his place.
He wanted to live forever...and had put it into writing after a hospital bout with my mother just 2 months before he went into the hospital with what was initially diagnosed as a urinary tract infection. A man who had swam 20 laps between his and a neighbors pier just 2 days before the trip to the ER. That was almost 3 months ago...
I think he thought that modern medicine would be able to keep him as physically and mentally alert as he was before the life extending measures were used.
A month ago he changed his mind...signed a "do not resesitate" form and told me he wished it had already happened. I asked what he meant..and he gave me the "finger across his throat" motion and gave me a very serious look and we just sat there for a few moments... no further words needed to be exchanged.
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