How many days do you have left??

[Jeff Alton]

Curious to know what the rest of you think about this.....

I will preface this with the fact that I treat every day like a gift. When my son wakes up in the morning we have a little routine. I say "what kind of day is it" and he says "its is a great day". I say "why?" and he says "because my eyes opened this morning". Just to give you and idea how we think....

Sooooo......

My GF's father is nearing end of life. Has a tumor in his intestines and bad stomach cancer. They give him less than three months and we have him entering hospice care next week. He is wasting away and has lost over 50lbs in the last 3 months....

So, I was speaking with MY father yesterday letting him know how Harry was doing. My dad said he wished he knew how many more days he had left. I thought about it and said that after seeing how Harry looks, I never want to know.

I gotta say after watching Harry, I really want a no warning end to my life when the time comes, and I can say that because of how I approach each morning.....

What do you think? Want to know when you will pass, or treat each day like they are a gift and you never know when they will end??

I hate to say it, but I am bothered with all of the end of life talk in my family right now, my mom has been in hospital for almost 3 months now as well.

Cheers

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alton

Want to know when you will pass, or treat each day like they are a gift and you never know when they will end??

I don't care whether I know or not, but you are definitely on the right track with treating every day like a gift. I wake up every morning and feel myself breathe for a while and contemplate what an unlikely miracle it is to be alive. The rest of the day is all gravy.

[Jeff Alton]

Thanks, I have been thinking like that, sadly, only for the last 5 years. My son and I started it when a child in his kindergarten class passed at that time...

[pwd72s]

What we want doesn't matter. What will be will be.

[J P Stein]

I must say that I am mildly surprised to wake up in the morning.
My mom is 92 and seems to be tired of the whole drill. I try to make her laugh as often as I can.

[Oh Haha]

I don't want to know and I hope I pass quickly(not like today but not being a burden to my family).

I try to treat every day as a gift but some days it sure feels like someone forgot the gift.

[flatbutt]

I don't really want to know BUT I hope I have enough warning to go Wiley Coyote off of a cliff on my Ducati. I watched cancer take my Dad slowly. I'm not going out that way if I can help it.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I don't really want to know BUT I hope I have enough warning to go Wiley Coyote off of a cliff on my Ducati. I watched cancer take my Dad slowly. I'm not going out that way if I can help it.

Same here on all of the above. He spent six months lying in his deathbed slowly wasting away and sure hope that I can avoid that...

[recycled sixtie]

I understand all of the above. Unfortunately we do not have a choice of how we leave this earth(?see below). My father in law is 96 and is in hospital , wants to live forever but is not happy. My mother is in the UK , is 94 and wants to be taken to Switz. to dignitas for the magic potion but my sister and I wont take her!(dignitas is voluntary suicide).The worst situation is my wife's brother who is 65 and has cancer. He is the one I feel sorry for because he is young and in addition we really like him!

I figure once I hit 80 years old, it is a bonus. After that I believe in voluntary euthanasia if I got really bad but that takes some guts to do it. I am not religious but as u get older the body/mind becomes weaker and it is almost like the body is being prepared for death. Kind of like an apple falling off the tree...

Thanks for the original post and my thoughts are with u and your relatives.

[jyl]

Hopefully about 13,000.

[dennis in se pa]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I don't really want to know BUT I hope I have enough warning to go Wiley Coyote off of a cliff on my Ducati. I watched cancer take my Dad slowly. I'm not going out that way if I can help it.

Absolutely right. My father died slowly of cancer and my mother died slowly of Alzheimers.

We treat our animals better than this because we are legally allowed to euthanize them.

I hope soon we can do this for humans. I don't want to be an emotional and financial burden on my family as I slowly die.

There should be a pill that allows an individual to decide.

Absent that we are left to our own devices I guess.

[azasadny]

Our friend's mother (like a mother to me, as well) is dying and is in hospice at home. We take the Golden Retriever (Daisy) every 2 weeks and spend time with her. It really reminds us how precious our time together here truly is....

[targa911S]

I'm already on borrowed time.

[HardDrive]

I might live to be 90. I might die tomorrow. Its not knowable. Wake up everyday, take stock, and do the best you can with what you have at that moment. We can set the sails and try and plan, but no one can predict with certainty when the storms will come. Just keep moving forward when you can.

I don't know how long I am going to live, but I can't believe the schit I have gotten away with thus far

[Erakad]

Nope, don't want to know when I'll goes paws up...doesn't matter, just want to go with my "boots on". Pretty much know/hope I have years left, but if I got hit by the Marlboro truck tomorrow, so be it. Right now, figure I have (statistically) about 25 years left on the earth, but when/if I hit.....

I figure once I hit 80 years old, it is a bonus

So at this point, hoping the game goes into overtime

[Les Paul]

I didn't used to want to know when I was going. Then I got this blasted cursed skin cancer called melanoma. Stage 4 gets your attention. No cure there bud, sorry about your bad luck. I went from never going to the doctor to having 3 I go to every 3 months who look you in the eye and say "good to see you today, it means your odds go up every time you come in here".

One told me to do my bucket list now. The other even less positive.

So yes sir. Every day is a good day.

[targa911S]

Damn,,,,Les.....

[Les Paul]

No pity necessary. Kind of refocus a bit. Actually get a bucket list. Goofy movie the first time I saw it now it sinks in. Thing is I've done most of the stuff I ever wanted to do already.

[NY65912]

Jeff, i hope all goes well with your mom. I know what its like to watch a parent die a slow death due to the big c. I do not want to know how many days inhave left. I dont think were supposed to know.
I myself am on borrowed time too. Having had pulmonary emboliisms, I am very happy for everyday the lord gives me. It's another day to gaze at this beautiful world and appreciate my wonderful family.

I think your daily affirmation with your son is great. Good luck to you.

Mike

[dewolf]

My dear old departed Dad used to say, "Son you have about 80 summers, maybe a few more, maybe a lot less.....make every one count!". Life really is to short.

Cancer really does suck. Lost my mother as a teen and my father a few years later