5 years gone, and Alzheimer's Aunt strikes again

This week was the 5 year anniversary of my dad's death.  He's been gone longer than he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  I'm not really any sadder than usual, except when I re-watched the episode of Walking Dead where Maggie tells her dad (who has been bitten by a zombie, and his leg cut off to try to save him) that it's okay for him to die.  The specifics of the speech, of course, weren't equal to the one I gave my dad, but it was 5 years ago to the day that I gave "it's okay to go" talk to my dad, and there I was watching it on TV.  I did cry, I admit.  I posted about it on Facebook and one of my friends talked about how hard it had been to give that talk to her mom when she was dying of cancer.  You have to say all the usual things.    I love you.  It's okay to go.  I'll be fine.  We'll all be fine.  There won't be any more pain once you leave.  I will miss you every day, but it's better for you if you go. My mom and I went to see the movie Lincoln and his last lines are something like, "it's time for me to go, but I'd much rather stay" and he goes off to the theater.  I'd like to think we'd all rather stay, given the choice, but with if your life is full of pain and suffering, sometimes it is time to go. Another Walking Dead moment (it's a great show) this season was when Hershel (recipient of the zombie bite and the "it's okay to go dad" speech several episodes later) inexplicably asks his daughters to ...
Source: Had a Dad Alzheimers Blog - Category: Dementia Authors: Source Type: blogs