Many of us have watched our parents or older loved ones go through the last stages of life with some consternation. I have watched my dad, Lynda's parents and many others go from happy, functioning members of society to be bed ridden and having to have someone dress and feed them before they die.
In many cases, this process takes years. At first those around them start to notice them slipping - either mentally or physically. Usually at this stage, they talk among themselves to try to confirm if they are all seeing the same thing. As it progresses, the limitations start to become more pronounced and usually more limitations begin to appear.
For example, we noticed that Lynda's mom, Nana - who had previously been meticulous about her medications - started missing her pills. She'd often put them in little Dixie cups and we'd find them laying around still with pills in them. This started to happen more frequently to the point where Lynda would fill the cups each morning and then stop in at night to confirm that Nana had taken them. As time went on, it got to where Lynda would bring the cups to Nana since Nana would routinely forget about them. This is just one example of a specific limitation we saw. During this time, we noticed other lapses such as she'd forget to eat. This, along with other mental difficulties just got worse over time until we had to choose to either move her into our house so we could take care of her or find an assisted living situation for her because we were convinced that she was no longer reliable about maintaining her body. Long story short, it was only a few years later that she finally passed away. During this long stretch, both her mental and physical capacity declined to the point where she couldn't even focus enough to watch TV.
This degradation process is very common. We've seen this in many other cases of friends parents and even friends we've known for years who we watched waste away. It's a very sad thing to see and as we get older, we are confronted with it more and more.
Over the years, I've struggled to understand why God allows this to happen or if this is even a part of his plan.
Here's what I think. 1: it's for the person who's going through, 2: it's for the those watching their loved ones go through this.
- For the old person going through this, it's a chance to recognize that most of what we have or can do is not from us but from the Lord. As each capacity - be it physical or mental capabilities - is taken away from us, it's a new opportunity for us to recognize that we did not create ourselves. The abilities we have were gifts from God. We may have honed them and established them but we did not create them in the first place. They are gifts. And as gifts, they can be lost or taken away from us. They are not who we are.
- For those watching someone progress through this, it's an opportunity to reflect and remember who that person is/was. I've noticed that in virtually all cases, those who watch their loved one loose capacity, they spend time reflecting on that person in ways that they very likely would not have done if it weren't for the loss.