Yet, very few animals die quietly in their sleep and even those pets too often have suffered needlessly until their body simply could not go on. Unable to do anything except open his eyes, have epileptic fits, occasionally make noises when in pain? It seems there is always another thing that can be done in an effort to forestall pain and death, but to what end? And the only place I could look to was the poems, because it was the only place I found linguistic pleasure.

The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink | Goodreads

They watched television with him, took him to the pub garden, talked to him and tried to carry on as normal for eight years, until at last they applied to the courts for permission to withdraw all nutrition, allowing Matty to die.You could also create a scrapbook or memory box filled with special memories and items that help you remember them. VUONG: I wanted to track, you know, the debris of living because I think sometimes the object speaks more clearly even than language itself. We slowly realise why, in praying for her beloved brother to live, she “was praying for the wrong thing”. There is a brilliant description of a scene at a pub in York, where all around them people are drunk and jovial, while Cathy and her dad – out of earshot of her mother, whom they don’t want to upset – talk about the biggest and saddest decision they will ever have to make: whether to turn off Matty’s life-support machine. From praying for his recovering, learning acceptance of his condition and finally undertaking the heartbreaking decision to do what is right for Matty and say goodbye.

The Last Act of Love - PubMed The Last Act of Love - PubMed

Matty’s mother had to give up her career and Cathy stalls school to be a carer while dad tries to make ends meet running the pub. His friends were shocked at his vacant gaze, his skin covered with spots and blackheads, his inability to move of his own accord.

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act of love - Counselling Directory Grief: The final act of love - Counselling Directory

The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice. She traces the heartache of willing her brother to survive and then realising, years later, that it would have been easier for everyone if he had died.Because we always talked positively and hopefully about Matty, people tended to think he was doing better than he was and were then shocked if they visited him to find that his gaze was either vacant or his eyes looked over to the right. I was in a cafe in Edinburgh when I saw a girl engrossed in this with teary eyes and I was tempted to know why. Such a heart-breaking decision to have to make but one which ultimately would bring, for want of a better word, closure.