By Gillian Schutte Recently, I have found myself reflecting deeply on the ethical and philosophical dilemmas surrounding the extension of life through pharmaceuticals. This reflection has been rooted in my personal journey with my mother, whose ageing process has been fraught with health challenges and given rise to profound ethical questions. My mother, once a vibrant yoga teacher and fitness fanatic, is now a frail but determined octogenarian.
Her slim body and youthful looks belie the fact that over the past four years she has faced three major heart attacks. On top of this, she suffered a stroke in 2020 shortly after her third vaccine during the COVID-19 period. While the stroke was mild and she is still able to hold conversations and walk with a walker, it still caused vascular damage that has restricted her left arm and leg, as well as severely affected some of her cognitive faculties.
Witnessing our once fit, vibrant and witty mother’s mental decline, as she vacillates between clarity and confusion, has been a painful and sometimes trying process for me and my four siblings. Most tragic is to observe her sporadic floundering in a twilight zone along with an awareness that her mind is slipping while knowing there is nothing she can do about it. Sometimes she weeps and professes that she would rather be dead than live with these unbearable restrictions.
Through her tears she often relates the story of her father, who had the same heart condition, prevalent in their Van.