no answers

My friends are getting old.

My sister reminded me a bit ago that a lot of people my age are dying. I added that a lot who are younger than me are dying too, for that matter.

We hope to live long and strong, but we have no assurance of either. A friend has been falling a lot lately. Could be lots of different reasons. None of them are good.

This evening a friend called, could I come down and help move his mother in law. Mom might have had a stroke, she sure was not acting good. Moving her is moving dead weight. My friend has a trick back and his wife is about 5' tall. Not a good combination for moving heavy weights.

What will happen? None of us know. Grandma might pass in her sleep, which would be merciful, but it might not happen quickly. Indeed she felt better the next day.

Last night I helped my friend load Grandma's heavy recliner into his pickup. Today they loaded up and are on a 5 hour trip to take Grandma back to her home. They really cannot care for her any more, but putting a loved one into someone else's care is the hardest thing we ever have to do.

If she goes into some sort of nursing facility, it is likely that she will die a bit sooner than if they kept her at their (or her) home, but that time would be at the expense of their own health.

There are no easy answers any where.