>Am not so sure. If you are in your nineties, classified as multi-morbid, cannot live, not even walk alone any more and have realized that your mind slipped to a level of perhaps 15-25% of your prime (not enough to warrant stewardship, coming from the far right side of the bell curve) and have nothing to look forward to but more misery and pain ? Hoping for a quick natural death, fearing a stroke which does not complete the job ? Believing in getting access to a fountain of youth Have such a case in family, talked over the options, which in itself is unpleasant to the extreme - but have decided for myself: if that person asks me to drive to a country where assisted death is not a crime, to wait for 3 days, argue *once, but with determination against,* to be certain it is no spur of the moment idea and then - more than unwilling - do as asked to do. I my world view it is each persons prerogative to decide to go on living or not - and the idea of such a trip (which I would have to accompany, even if just to make sure any last minute mind changes are followed and action is stopped) is scary to me.
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>You have a good point. But if your mental capacity is so diminished, how would you know whether or not your life is worth living? Unless, of course, you have Alzheimer's. Andy's father had Alzheimer's and in his few moments of clarity, he told Andy that it was like being in hell. Andy's mother died recently at the age of 96 and even though she had no clue what was going on around her because of dementia, she seemed cheerful enough. In her last few years, she had a dog's life - living in the moment and not remembering anything that didn't occur within the last 2 minutes (unless they were memories from her childhood which she remembered vividly). It was more painful to the people who had known her as a bright, active and capable woman than it was to her.

I can relate. My relatives and ex in-laws have been dropping like flies and dementia has almost always been the case. (My dad was spared; he went quickly and was as sharp as a tack to the end. Unless you can hold being a Republican against him, LOL). My mom is 79 and has been formally diagnosed with frontal lobal dementia. She can tell you chapter and verse about things that happened when she was young. She just doesn't remember yesterday.

I hope when my time comes it will happen quickly. I don't want to be a burden on my daughters for a decade.

Now here is something I have not talked about until now. One of the dads on Tricia's side of the family was institutionalized with dementia. He was the calmest, nicest guy you could hope to know. His mind left him. A few weeks ago he jumped through a third floor window to his death. I really wish she hadn't told me that.