Off the Record
Making final wishes possible
The AP story on page A11 of our print edition today is headlined, "Few Americans make end-of-life wishes known."
My mother-in-law and father-in-law were exceptions.
They made their wishes clearly known.
They wanted to die in the home they occupied for almost all of their 59-plus years of marriage.
And they did, both within the last two weeks.
They were under excellent hospice care (Hospice of the Carolina Foothills) at the end, but what really fulfilled their wishes was the extraordinary love and devotion of their daughter (a registered nurse) and son-in-law, who moved into their home more than two years ago, turning it essentially into an assisted-living facility. My wife spent most weekends and most of her summer breaks there over that time to lend a hand.
Not every family can do that for their elderly loved ones. For those that can, it's one of the greatest gifts children can give their parents -- the gift of a dignified death in familiar, comfortable surroundings -- in this case, their own home.
It was very difficult at times, physically and emotionally, for the daughters to make this happen -- but ultimately rewarding. They should always be proud of themselves for granting their parents' final wishes.
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