Death - to Die or to Keep Alive?

Twelve days of crazy times at the hospital, and, most of them have been surrounding whether to allow a loved one to die or force a loved one to live. Or at least that's how I see it. 

And, as I see it, these choices are made based on religious belief, or should I say, cultural belief, or should I better yet say, culture trumps everything, including death. 

If a loved one is sick enough to be put on a breathing tube, kept alive with monitors and oxygen, then that person is most likely going to die, and the only reason they are still alive is because of these artificial means. 

"We want to do everything we can for him. He was so giving, he took care of us when we were broke, we are doing the same for him." Is a cultural more' based on belief, yet the reality is artificially living is death. And the family will be broke, moreso now than ever, because of the expense of being kept "alive." And in the meantime, money, people, emotions, abilities, are being spent to do so. 

A loved one is declared brain dead, yet keep on oxygen until the family can arrive and say good-bye. One day, two days, five days later, the family is praying for a miracle. And the miracle is for the person to rise. And this will happen because of faith. 

Tradition to do all that can be done, and then some, because a miracle will happen if there's faith, and the loved one will rise and recover. 

A family gathers around a loved one's bed, he says his good-byes, kisses the photo of his spouse (who has long passed), and his pacemaker is turned off. And this is his choice, knowing he will be reunited with his loved one, while those he loves weep. 

A loved one slips into a comotose state, and the family is divided - death or life, existence or living. Where is the cutting-off point? When is a decision made? And the family looks to their religious beliefs - temporariness, meaningful existence, perception. 

Tradition to have hope that an afterlife is more than an existence. And so the good-bye is painful, yet eagerly given. 

In many ways, the decision is made for them. The living's reality is so different from the dying's reality, and yet we place ours on theirs, and our wishes become their death, or living sentences. 

And this. 

Oban, Scotland 6/2019 - Living in History