Final exit........

Eddy has gotten us involved with a little old man from Turkey.  He is in the middle stages of dementia and as a result, has become "homeless".  He actually owns two houses; one is a big beautiful house in a very expensive neighborhood.   The big house stands furnished, with pictures of his younger days still forgottenly displayed.  But as his disease has progressed, he has neglected paying the mortgage and utility bills.  The house has 6 inches of water in the basement and the bank is about to foreclose.  The smaller house has been condemned by the city.  He has been living there in squalor with his large dog.  The house is filthy and cluttered.  Piles of trash in the yard and a most unpleasant smell coming from the house have caused the neighbors to report it.  Eddy has contacted his relatives in Turkey and England.  His grandson arrived from Turkey the day before yesterday and his daughter-in-law will be coming from London on the 29th.  The plan is to help get his affairs in order so he can go back to Turkey with his grandson.  As Eddy has been spending time with the "little old man from Turkey" it has caused him to remember a recent experience visiting an elderly friend of ours who is now living in an assisted living facility.

He is a Haitian man who is in the end stages of dementia.  On a recent visit, he sat babbling in his wheelchair as he pulled and twisted the top of his Depends and talked about showing us his new underwear.  In his other hand, a half-filled glass of juice trembled distractingly while spittle slid out the side of his mouth.  He had been a good friend and competent mechanic as recently as a few years ago.

These experiences have been tormenting my 52-year-old husband (who, by the way, shows NO signs of dementia) and as a result, he has begun planning his "exit strategy".    At only 52, he seems to think all his good years are behind him and the little time he has left he seems determined to spend agonizing over his soon-to-come humiliating decline and inevitable demise.  

What a waste of energy!  Eddy is likely to live well into his 80's before he dies a probably somewhat painful but mercifully quick death from choking when he bursts into sudden laughter while taking a gulp of beer.  It will be his punishment for watching years and years of stupid sit-coms like Two-and-a-Half Men.