Vaxxing, part 3

 I have written about the rights involved in the considerations about masking and vaxxing. 

That is ALL I have been writing about, although side issues have been mentioned.

I've been talking about "rights." That is all

There are issues aside from the right to say yes or no, and living with the consequences thereof. 

Vaccines are a good thing. Even new experimental untested vaccines have a useful purpose. How else can they be tested? And is knowingly getting a vaccine that may not work, or even may make you ill. any worse than going about unprotected world where you may unknowingly catch the illness? 

These are the decisions each individual makes for themselves. Do not make decisions without consideration of consequences. There are a few people, specifically men, who never had mumps, but refused the vaccine when it was developed because it was a 'kids' disease' and they were no longer children. They later came to regret that decision. 

There are always consequences. 

Do not say "No" to a life-saving treatment just because you have the right to say "No." Just because you can is the worst reason in the world to not adopt a behavior or take an action. 

Do not consider just your self and your desires . Consider your situation and your lifestyle. Weigh your risks. What of your family, your friends, your co-workers? How could (not will) your decision on this matter affect them? How will (or could) your action or inaction impact them? 

Try to imagine the extreme results from both or all choices, not just the ones you prefer. 

Separate your "Rights" from their needs. 

Decide what's best.

Let me reword that. 

Make the best decision you can with the information available. 

What you do is up to you.

What you do to others is not. 

Dying to Live, or Living to Die

I wonder if anyone of you realize how fast the end of this disease (COPD) can come upon you.
My husband went to hospital with pneumonia and an exacerbation because of it. He got worse, got better, got worse, got better. Then he tried to sit up unassisted in the bed and the doctor is saying, "This is end stage. Do you want kept alive by machine and stuck in a nursing facility, or not?" And, before we could even take that in, he crashed again and the goal was to keep him alive until his daughters came.
Of course, he lingered after that, even so still reluctant to leave us.

The point is, it all happened too quickly. We knew it would come, someday, and some day soon, and had discussed things in general -- health care directives and funeral 'plans' and such.
I urge you to get specific.
Do not make your loved one have to make the decision in the space of a few minutes or a couple hours.
Talk to your doctor about how it ends.
Talk to your family about how you want to end, and where.
Write it down somewhere.

Then go back to your business of living every day and enjoying every breath you take while you are taking it.

We all know that death is waiting for us. Those with chronic illnesses such as this know it more than the general population does. We know that we can have choices to make and there are choices our loved ones will have to make.
But do we want to put the burden of our decisions on their shoulders?

Know what you want, exactly, precisely.
Tell them what you want.
And now that this business of dying has been settled, go back to living.
.
Thoughtfully.
Gratefully.
Fully.