Why is life worth living?
- Thread starter Jer
- Start date
Jer, just a couple comments, sharing info.
We had a close friend with Parkinsons (he was in his 50s), and when the meds were not working anymore, they gave him the Borg implant in his brain, and he had a tremendous result from that. Even was able to ride his Harley again. And that was at U of I, so good things can happen there!
But also have to comment on Mayo Clinic, for you but also for everyone. If you can get there, go there. Its the freaking starship Enterprise up there.
Gf just had spinal fusion surgery up there 2 weeks ago. Yes they have the best doctors, but that is not the half of it. Everything just WORKS. Checking in? Simple and there is someone friendly right there to help too. Scheduling? Same - they take the time to talk to you and sort it out. Its so well organized.
But mostly it was people - nurses, admin folks, housekeeping, everyone - friendly, take the time to talk to you, good mood and attitude, ask you what you need. It was all just so positive. I assume they hire positive people somehow, but also deliberately create a positive helpful culture as well. Which of course leads to better patient outcomes, but its gotta be a great place to work too. Totally opposite of everywhere else I have been (with her, with dad, self) where everyone is too busy to be bothered with you, wants you to go away, and just kind of surly.
She was there 3 nights and had the same 2 nurses all 3 days for day/night shift. They got to know her, what was bothering her specifically, and that helped them help her. And its comforting when you know who will come check on you.
Best run organization of any kind I have ever experienced.
To go back to the Original Post. Why is life worth living? Sometimes it's to test our patience and our strength. I found out the girl I am dating hooked up with the bartender a few nights ago. Found this out this morning. I thought we were exclusive. Now I ended that relationship and she is doing the poor me thing. I am shook. I really liked this girl and thought it was long term. However, I am sitting in my office drinking a THC drink and calming my nerves. Trying to process. That is what makes me stronger. I kind of thrive on getting over pain. Not sure if that is the Cyclone fan in me, the Marine thing in me, or just the way my parents raised me. To not be the poor me guy. To smile and shake my head. To move on. I think the best part of sadness and pain the coming out the other side with an improved situation. I am not sure what this thread is discussing now. I have not read it for a while. However, the pain and suffering is a great way to realize that when you are at the bottom, the only thing you can do is go up and it's roses at the top.
I ask myself the OP’s question nearly every day honestly. If it weren’t for my wife and our two grown children, I’m scared about how I would answer it honestly.
Dealing with my own health issues, and just feel terrible for my wife that she has to deal with me and all my issues. This isn’t what she deserves.
I’ve even told her that I’d understand completely if she left me for someone who could give her the life she deserves to have, but luckily for me she says that’s just stupid talk.
Dealing with my own health issues, and just feel terrible for my wife that she has to deal with me and all my issues. This isn’t what she deserves.
I’ve even told her that I’d understand completely if she left me for someone who could give her the life she deserves to have, but luckily for me she says that’s just stupid talk.
That's too bad but isn't the same thing as a chronic debilitating condition that doesn't improve and causes death.
Totally agree. I was going off the title of the thread. Also, needed to get that off my chest and the Milan Mommy thread seemed like a weird place for me to do it.
I had not heard that term before, but these points hit home. In addition to my aging parents (93 and 91), I'm also the youngest of 8. During a recent uncle's funeral, one of my brothers goes "I feel bad for you. If everything holds true, you'll have to go through this with all of us." It was never anything I'd considered for some reason, but now I have that stuck in my head for the rest of my life because of my a-hole of a brother.
The empty nest thing was something I was severely dreading, and it hit me incredibly hard. As many on here know, I lost my son to a heart issue when he was an infant. It was crushing for all the obvious reasons, and we ended up being parents of an only child. On top of the "normal" grief, the weird part nobody really discusses is that sometimes happy events can be some of the hardest to fully enjoy. When my daughter celebrated an accomplishment, you get the joy of something good followed by the pain of knowing you don't get to experience it again. Luckily, my wife and I agreed to communicate any time one of us gets emotionally punched out of the blue, and we've done our best to be crutches for each other.
When my daughter went off to college, the house was eerily empty and quiet. She brought a certain positive vibe to everything, and the day-to-day interactions and joking around came to a screeching halt. It is such an abrupt end to a major part of a parent's life. She's not that far away and we talk fairly regularly, so it seems weird to feel so sad about it, but it is just so incredibly different.
As far as points 3-5 on your list, I'm doing ok so far. But the timetable for these things is really ramping up. What seemed far away is staring me in my face now.
Last edited:
It’s not a competition, no need to downplay what someone else is going though just because someone else is going through something worse
Incredibly sorry to hear that. I thank my wife every day because for her I’m still here and she devotes so much of her energy and time to take care of me when she deserves better. That’s the thing with love though we’ve been together 25 years since I was 16 in 1998 and it’s usually the bad times when we find that our relationship is stronger now than it has ever been. It is absolutely hell on them but they don’t complain. It’s amazing what we’ll do without even feeling overwhelmed by it to help the people we love. She’s everything to me.
Agreed. Someone's suffering doesn't diminish another person's suffering and shouldn't be a competition like you said
