Ex-Prez Reagan broke a hip...should they even try to fix it, he's got Alzheimers .

[Siren]

 

[brazenblaze]

I agree 100%. Let the man leave this earth with at least a bit of his dignity.

That is why I have a living will, if something like that ever happens to me, it is in writing that any and all care to extend my life is prohibited, to include feedings such as through a tube.

 

[Gingersnap]

Dependent on the type of fracture it could be very cruel not to fix it. I hope his family is focused on comfort measures at this point. I never liked Reagan as a president and esp. not as an actor but my heart is saddened at what this disease does to people.

 

[R Nitelight]

Siren

What was the question again?

 

[Siren]

I agree Gingersnap.

 

[Gingersnap]

I know there were so many time you saw Nancy standing next to him cueing him with words he had obviously forgotten.
Makes me wonder if she is ready to let go of the hollywood long enough to do the humane thing.

[Edited by Gingersnap on 01-13-2001 at 01:30 PM]

 

[Siren]

HUH????

 

[Rosebud]

No siren...aids continued to grow because of the damn needle sharers and the aids infected people not giving a shit on who they affect. I knew about aids then...it isn't up to the damn president to stop aids...it is up to the people who have it to take some responsibility.

Fix his hip and do what you can to make him comfortable...he isn't going to live much longer and no one deserves to go through this. It is sad...he was a great mind and now all is lost out of it.

 

[Wizard]

Maybe they could fix him up with those little wheels that they give dogs and cats to move around........works for them.........

 

[Budman]

My wife passed away the day before our 36th wedding anniversary. Contributing cause: Alzheimers. She was in a nursing home for the last two years of her life because i was finally no longer able to provide the care she needed at home. Her short term memory was shot, but she could remember things from the past that I couldn't. Should I not have provided her with the care and comfort that she needed because of her illness?????? I think that if I had done that, it would have made me lower than whale crap at the bottom of the ocean.
Siren, if it were your dad/mom would you still, honesty, feel the way you apparently do? No matter what an individuals faults, they deserve the best care available to them until they take that final, last, deep sighing breath.

 

[Shylady]

Bud you said it perfect....

 

[Feisty1]

i second siren's post. he was an astoundingly shitty prez, but any human should die with dignity. having the compassion to understand that some of the measures we take to 'preserve life' in the U.S. are really for our own sake (because we cannot bear to say goodbye) and not for the good of the person suffering is a true marker of maturity. hopefully, however, his surgery will actually improve the quality of his life in the longrun.

i also agree wholeheartedly that a living will is very necessary in light of the technology we have today to maintain 'life'....

 

[*Eve*]

LOL, I didn't really read any of the posts in this thread but the titke alone made me laugh. I need to frequest this board more often.

 

[CreamyLady]

My dad died after an eight-year bout with Alzheimer's. Early after his diagnosis, he had to have prostate surgery, and it was absolutely gruesome. The anesthesia affected his brain, and it took three people about 36 hours to keep him quiet and in bed; he was delusional and combative.

It was just a hint of what was to come. If the hip surgery is to reduce pain and make him comfortable, most definitely it should be done. As for physical therapy and learning to walk again, I doubt it will happen. A hip fracture is quite often the beginning of the end for the elderly who are frail.

I didn't think much of him as a president either. I saw Nancy's constant support and cueing, and while I have no real admiration for her, she has had a rough row to hoe these past years, and I hope the end is peaceful.

 

[Grrrn38]

Creamy Lady: Amen. I have nothing but distaste for the Reagans and their attempt to make the American presidency a ceremonial position, but I admire Nancy Reagan's single-minded love and determination to fight for her husband.

 

[jcgirl]

Just because he's old and has a disease such as Alz does not mean he shouldnt have the bare necessity such as fixing a broken hip. Just because he might be or might not be bedridden does not mean that he should not be able to stand. What if he wanted the dignity to go to the bathroom unassisted? My Grandmother had Alz's. She had moments of complete lucidity. She was my grandmother at times. During those times I could not have looked her in the eyes and told her I thought it would be a waste of time to fix a broken bone on her because she was old and dying anyway. How disgusting

 

[Cheri]

The thing of it is, most alzheimers patients are very mobile. They wander constantly as if they're looking for something. That is the reason that alzheimer units are locked. So to think that Reagan can't do the one thing that might give him some comfort seems cruel.
I worked in a nursing home for a year, and I found that the main reason a broken hip is the beginning of the end for the elderly is that they won't walk and endure the pain that will have as the broken bone heals. Hopefuly that wouldn't be the issue with Reagan.

 

[Andra_Jenny]

So many things in one thread. What to do is obviously a family decision. What you would advise the family should not be based on how you feel about the individual. Always examine the human condition and that which makes us human.

I follow Dr. Duesburg's line of reasoning. AIDS is not a disease, but a consequence of lifestyle and was the first bureauchratically created disease. Since the medical community is busy chasing a boogey-man, no cure can be found, but the opportunity for more and more government control is obviously very ripe and just another avenue in which to pursue the socialization of the new world.

My best wishes to anyone who has relatives struggling with Alzheimer's. We are going through that now and it is painful when a parent becomes a child. But I would still probably try to do something about a hip unless it was a very terminal and delibating state.

 

[Siren]

Budman, I took care of my father with Alzheimers, so I know from which I speak of..

 

[Nogard]

You are all right. When they can no longer function according to our beliefs, throw them in the gas chamber. New stocks of zyclon B just discovered. have to use it somewhere

 

[Budman]

Euthanize them all Siren. I sincerely hope that you do not become afflicted with this disease. True, I didn't have the COMPANIONSHIP, for the last few years, of the person I loved with all my being. But I DID have that person, and every time I visited her, usually 6 or 7 times a day, I was reminded of the pleasures, heartache, and pain that we suffered together thru 36 years. As far as recognizing me, the last day of her life, the last time i visited her, she broke into the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. She may not have been able to articulate her thoughts and feelings, but that smile told it all. When I left her that evening before her death, i gave her a kiss. There were tears in her eyes, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it with all the little strength she had left. Did she recognize me? Yes. Was she saying to me, in the only way she could, "goodbye"? Yes, I firmly believe so. Would I go thru it all again, relive the last 10 years of her life, after she was diagnosed? HELL YES I WOULD !!!! WHY??? Because I loved her, and she loved me.

your quote Siren: doesnt recognize you, doesnt understand words, cant take care of basic needs and cant even be more than a giant baby.

Perhaps we should stop bringing babies into the world too. After all, they fit those words.

 

[jcgirl]

Well said Bud <<hug>>

 

[Siren]

Oh please,,,,,did you last three posters even read what I said??

 

[Guest]

My my Siren - what a compassionate person you are. All I can say is thank god you're not my daughter - I'd be looking to find a way to get away from you if you were knowing how you feel about people getting old and having an illness that they can't control. I would not wish either of the things ex President Reagan has on you but try walking a few footsteps in his shoes and seeing what it's like. Your lack of compassion and humanity appalls me. That we have raised a generation of children who think only of themselves is not an accomplishment we can be proud of. I took care of my father when he was dying - it was my honour and privelege to do so and I will do it again for my mother when the time comes. They brought me into this world and gave me all they could and it is my responsibility to make sure that I can do all I can for them now. Which brings me back to ex President Reagan - everything that can be done to make him more comfortable should be done - it is up to his family to make that decision not you.

 

[Siren]

Listen GrowUp if you had read what I wrote you would know that I