LAST NIGHT 'DOWN THE PUB'

[peterperfection]

WE WERE ALL TALKING.
Question was -'If you were given the option' of living '5 years left living a good life - pain free and dropping dead on the pavement suddenly'--OR 10 years of plodding along with aches and pains and passing away in hospital in the last year connected to a drip'.

WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE' ?.

Think carefully before you answer

 

[AronSearle]

The younger you are the more likely you are to choose the 10 year option.

 

[peterperfection]

The younger you are the more likely you are to choose the 10 year option.

Thank you AS.

I do suspect however- both you and I are not that young. Wiser no doubt-

 

[noseall]

It is human nature to want to live longer.

Unless you are in catastrophic pain or disability then i would say that a majority of normal thinking people would always want that bit of extra time.

 

[ImayKnow]

They must be a strange bunch in your pub Peter, if that is typical of your conversations.

 

[peterperfection]

They must be a strange bunch in your pub Peter, if that is typical of your conversations.

Nope -- it's real Life bud.

ps-- a few strange ones though-- but - it takes all sorts to make the world go round --dont it ?.

ps-- that's why I said -- think carefully before you answer.

 

[securespark]

I've had a lifetime of aches and pains, so a few more is neither here nor there.

 

[noseall]

The younger you are the more likely you are to choose the 10 year option.

I think the opposite is true.

 

[gregers]

i wouldnt choose.i dont want to know either way.

 

[HERTS P&D]

I've had a lifetime of aches and pains, until I found a good divorce lawyer!

Andy

 

[AronSearle]

The younger you are the more likely you are to choose the 10 year option.

I think the opposite is true.

Ask a 15 year old.

Now think, what would their answer be to the question, and what would their actual choice be if faced with the options.

Lot's of young uns would blithely spout out they would rather live 5 good years than 10 not so good ones, but given the actual choice.........I think most would be too afraid of death having lived to short a life.

 

[LastMagicBean]

It depends on what was being offered in the 5year package.

What's meant by a good life???

 

[misterdubya]

Afraid of death? Who the hell is afraid of dying? The tax man and my missus frighten me though.

 

[Sombrero]

It's too broad a question to get consistent answers..

The reality for me is, i don't want to lose my awareness and become a dependant gibbering blob, nor do i want to suffer a stroke and lose half the use of my body. And for example, pain is manageable, but blindness isn't.

As for the question, which to be fair is slightly banal, i'd take 5 years of skipping health rather than 10years of degenerative ailments !

 

[chapeau]

It's an answer you can only possibly accurately give at the time it becomes important to give it. For anybody in good health now your answer could easily change, but it depends of course on the circumstances at the time.

What is very very important is that you get your current wishes down in writing in the event that you are incapable of answering yourself. You really don't want decisions to be taken by hospital staff if you can avoid it, that's turns into a bit of pot-luck. I reckon I covered that only yesterday in a Power of Attorney post.

What I think is very important is that you or I should be able to end our own lives at a time of our choosing in a civilised manner and without stigma. Unfortunately that is still some time away, some members of society get a reet bee in their bonnet about that sort of thing, heathens really.

Also, everybody goes on about life expectancy, but fewer talk about Healthy Life Expectancy. The figures for expected years of good health are significantly less.