My great grandmother died when I was a teenager.
On that happy note, let’s talk about the only time when you’re better off dead than alive.
My great nana had Alzheimer’s disease. It’s probably one of the most awful things I’ve ever seen. The disease process is very predictable. You slowly lose your mind, and in a lot of cases, you know it’s happening and can’t do anything about it. You just start forgetting things.
How do we know this? Because dementia and Alzheimer’s patients tell us. In one interview, a guy by the name of Red Johnson explains what it feels like:
“I love my family. My daughter-in-law and son-in-law; my grandchildren and great-grandchildren; my in-laws; and my nieces and nephews. I might not remember their names. I might be tongue tied when I try to talk with them. But, I still love them. Do you know how dumb it feels when you “know” the person talking with you is an old friend and you can’t remember their name? I know something is wrong with me, and I hate it.”
In my mind, that’s when I think it’d be better to be dead than alive. What’s worse is that a great number of people don’t have enough money to pay for their medical care when they get into that state of mind and so they become totally dependent on the state and their family to get them into a nursing home. I (briefly) worked in a nursing home when I was 20 and I’ll spare you the details except to say you never want to end up in a state-run facility. A private facility might be a little better, but not by much.
Anywho, one way to protect yourself is to buy life insurance.
I talk all about this, and more, in my daily email… a free email subscription you can join by visiting the homepage and signing up.