A contemplative, personal film by physician/filmmaker Maren Monsen, who…
What Time is Left
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Told from the point of view of the filmmaker/grandson (in his early twenties), who'd had a brush with death himself, this moving film opens up a quiet storm of issues concerning how we all live and die, and how we face or choose to ignore the looming end-of-life choices that affect our aged loved ones--and ultimately, ourselves. Through the voices of three generations of the family, the film candidly follows the extended Henderson family as they care for two grandmothers who live in the same retirement community - Grandma Polly is in an advanced stage of aphasia, and can no longer walk or speak; Grandma DeeDee is healthy and active, consumed with concerns that her Living Will is followed to the letter. Through unforgettable moments and characters who are both surprisingly funny and heart-wrenchingly honest, the film reveals the web of human connections that keep a family together in the face of death, decline, and the unpredictablility of life, itself.
Citation
Main credits
Henderson, Dakin (screenwriter)
Henderson, Dakin (film director)
Henderson, Dakin (film producer)
Henderson, Dakin (editor of moving image work)
Herbes-Sommers, Christine (film producer)
Other credits
Original music by Louis Weeks.
Distributor subjects
No distributor subjects provided.Keywords
WEBVTT
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[music]
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When I finished college, my brother Nathan
was working on a farm up in Ontario.
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[sil.]
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That summer, I rode my bike across
the northeast to visit him.
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It was the first time in a while
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that I\'d had a chance to really
step back and think about things.
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[music]
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Life was moving fast but what scared
me wasn\'t that the past was gone.
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[music]
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It was that the future
was still so uncertain.
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[music]
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When I first got here, it was pretty shocking, the
way time slowed down because I was here in March.
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You know, every day or so,
things change a little bit
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and it seems like it takes forever
for the past year to green up.
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I think the way both of
us feel right now is…
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is that while we\'re still young and we don\'t
have families to feed we might as well try
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to go the idealistic route… Right.
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…For a while. The… the… the risks that we\'re taking at this stage in
life for a lot less than… than it would be 10 years down the road.
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[music]
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Last time you saw grandma was Christmas?
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Which grandma? Uh… Polly. Polly.
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I don\'t know what do you think when
you visit her when we\'re all there
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and she\'s just hanging out in a wheelchair.
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I think it\'s… it\'s sad to me.
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That\'s a weird question to ask. What do you think it would
have been better if she had died like three years ago?
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I think…
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I think she was done
living a long time ago.
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I can\'t remember all that well
what she was as a person.
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I mean, I can but it\'s fading.
I think you\'re right
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it has been so long that when I see her I think
about what it means for mom and dad grew older.
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You know, I think about what she represents
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because that\'s sort of all that\'s
left is that she represents something
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and that there\'s not much
of a person left there.
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[music]
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(inaudible) someone else.
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[music]
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[sil.]
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You remember this guy?
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You remember the guy right there?
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You… Can you recognize it? That\'s me.
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You see how short I am? (inaudible)
short I am compared the mom
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and dad and Nat… Nat is taller than me.
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This is like right before I got tall.
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[sil.]
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The first real moment was
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she went to the theatre in
the day and the next day
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I asked her, \"How it was?\"
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And she said, \"It was good.\" And I said, \"How did you
end up getting there?\" And she said, \"Oh, we walked.\"
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But they didn\'t because
it was five miles away,
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so you know, it was somewhere downtown,
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and the conversation went on
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and then she got up, she went somewhere
and she came back and she said,
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\"I know I told you that we
walked, and I want you to know
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that I know that we didn\'t.\"
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And that was sort of the beginning.
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No, I don\'t want to get back there. Hang on. So but what
you got here… I want to be able to shoot him, okay?
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Okay. This is my other grandmother.
Grandma ED,
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who was actually two years older than
Grandma Polly. Nobody ever told me
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about the fact that I would
have to stop shaving my legs
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because I didn\'t need to shave my legs anymore
because the hair just stopped growing.
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[music]
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Both of my grandmothers live in
the same retirement community.
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In different wings of a place called
Kendal in Hanover, New Hampshire.
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I\'ve been coming here to visit Edie since I was a little kid. And
I\'ve always thought that living at Kendal would be kind of like
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going to college only at the end of life.
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I think that changes at my age now
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and my late 80s seem to be
occurring as frequently
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as possibly as changes would of from
being six months old two years old.
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It\'s… they\'re very rapid.
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[music]
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I can open my mouth as wide as I like.
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And my dear dentist says, you
got arthritis in your jaw.
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Who ever thought of arthritis in your jaw?
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[music]
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It\'s just, you know, wrinkles
appear, skin changes are dramatic.
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In the winter time, here, I have a heck
of a time trying to keep enough humidity.
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Here so that I\'m not itchy and breaking out
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in all sorts of strange spots and…
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What I find very interesting is
that you\'re able to observe this
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as sort of an interesting
phenomenon as opposed to…
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Taking it personally. Yeah.
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Well, don\'t you think some of that
comes from being behind a camcorder.
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I was surprised by how much I had
in common with Grandma Edie.
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Things I never noticed when I was little.
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Growing up my grandparents had always
been just grandparents. Good morning.
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I\'d never really thought about what their
lives might be like. I think I\'m done.
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Or how their is might
be connected with mine.
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Now you don\'t have to sit
quite so straight either.
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You can cross your legs and relax, it\'s
only your grandma you\'re talking to. Okay.
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Okay. Okay. Now you
yourself have gone through
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some major traumatic events recently,
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talking about life and dying and so forth.
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Okay. And I\'ve never
really heard your story.
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Well, what… Well, begin… begin
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when you set off that morning
to go and play Frisbee, right?
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Get down there. Get down there.
When did you begin to realize
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that what happened to you, I mean,
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you could have died, right?
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When did that piece of knowledge
suddenly register for you?
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Well, I\'m young
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and stupid
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and I\'m young and stupid.
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Ought to be old
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and wise.
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To be comfortable
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with the prospect of my old (inaudible) by.
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I don\'t believe. Thinking he must be…
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Hey Jodie.
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Oh boy.
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How is it going? Great. Good to see you.
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It\'s really good to see you.
Are you really awake?
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Hey, Bones. Good to see you. Good to see
you. I said if (inaudible) car\'s gone
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it\'s because of the driving to Canada because I missed my flight.
Oh my God. My mom called me on the road at like nine o\'clock.
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Grandma Edie had gone to Nova
Scotia to go over her living well
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with her two oldest children. Okay. I didn\'t
know much about what a living will was
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but making sure her kids understood it
was clearly very important to Edie.
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Do you have your… the… that what
I said you? The… the copy, yeah.
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I have that. Might be… might be Mandy(ph), I
don\'t know. Did it raise any questions for you?
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If you\'re walking around town
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and you pass out… Yeah. I don\'t want
you… I just do call an ambulance.
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Uh… If I pass out
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and some body determines
that my heart has stopped,
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umm… in other words cardiac arrest,
then do not call the ambulance.
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That\'s my do not resuscitate,
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and it has Mary\'s name on it. I
don\'t know what you\'re seeing here.
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But there are mild heart… heart attacks, there\'s
congestive heart failure which is gradual, and…
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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh… you
know, a mild heart attack…
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You don\'t know, do you?
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I know. Yeah. (inaudible). Yeah.
What\'s likely to happen?
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I don\'t know what\'s really
likely to happen I could began
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to degenerate mentally, uh… and slide onto
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early stages of Alzheimer\'s and on down
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that dreaded path. And at that
point I want the capability
00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.999
if I still have it together enough
here to refuse food and (inaudible).
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.999
And… and get out of this
life as soon as possible.
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And Terry will have the hard
time because he… You are the…
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wants to extend life to its limits.
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If you\'re essentially fine
00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.999
and fully competent and… and
thinking about things and you say,
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\"Well, this… this is my time to die,\"
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umm… that sounds like suicide.
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[music]
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Okay. Here we are. Grandma,
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and it\'s spring. There is grandma.
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Oh my God, she\'s slipping.
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.999
And it was a… a language thing.
00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.999
She would sort… sort of misspeak
or just… should mix up her words.
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.999
I do and of course now and go, \"Oh my God.
This is what grandma was doing.\"
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
[music]
00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.999
Wow, grandma! Don\'t trouble your grandma.
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
[music]
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.999
I took her to a bunch of
doctors in Philadelphia.
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.999
Really wanting an answer. I wanted someone to
say this is how we\'re gonna we\'re fix you.
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We finally came to New York to a program
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.999
and that woman is a woman that diagnosed her
and said, \"You have progressive (inaudible).
00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.999
So she went from going to all these people who
said, \"You\'re a pretty remarkable old woman,
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.999
just what are you complaining
about?\" And finally someone said,
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
\"No, you have something very rare and
very specific and it\'s not good news
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
because most people will decline…\"
Is it funny with the flowers.
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.999
And I love this one outside there.
They over time,
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
you know, witnessed some
real funny grandma moments.
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
I used to go down every
other weekend pretty much
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but grandma comes out of
the bedroom stark naked
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
and started dances around in the living room with Sammy
and she says, \"My closer, just so uncomfortable.
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
I feel much better without my clothes on.\"
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
And Sammy just took it in stride like, \"Oh my God,\" you know.
But these kind of things started happening, you\'re like, \"Wow!\"
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
It\'s not just (inaudible) anymore.
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
She would get, you know,
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
weird isn\'t the right word but she\'d get
a little more complicated every year.
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
I remember looking at her,
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
doing her morning exercises and
knowing that in the old days,
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
Nina and Sam would go over and hang with her and do
exercises with her, and now they were choosing not to.
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
And I was choosing not to make them go.
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
And this… the same weekend that
I was sort of looking at her
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realizing this was happening, she
came to me and started crying
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
and saying, \"You know, I know it\'s all different
now. I know that you used to come over
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and you don\'t, you know. The kids used
to come over and they don\'t anymore.
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
And I want you to be normal or I want you to be the way
you used to be or something.\" It was… it was… was hard.
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:58.000
[music]
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.999
Hi grandma, so your (inaudible) taken.
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
But taken back, so I said, \"I would.\"
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.999
And we\'re going to
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
take you for a little ride in your chair.
And you gonna find a piano.
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
And I think Nathan is gonna play.
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
And we said you many, many times,
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
he began playing the piano on your piano.
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
Oh… Hi, mom. How are you? Grandma.
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
[music]
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
You love seeing (inaudible), don\'t you?
You know her hair is amazing.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
Oh. It still is.
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
She was very alone. She couldn\'t communicate with
people. And then there was a lot of conversation
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
about her plan and… and
what her desires were.
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
Luckier I have curly hair.
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
So I thought the sooner she made the
move the better but she wanted very much
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
to be a part of her life to be independent,
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
and it was four years later
that we moved her here.
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
She was not really able
to talk at that point.
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:38.000
[music]
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
Whenever I would go visit her, which
was… every three or four weekends
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
I would go down to Philadelphia to see her.
She would say, \"I want to go home.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
She kept saying, \"I want to go home.\"
She could say those words. Yes.
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
And what did that mean to you? Well, to
me, it meant she didn\'t want to be there.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
Whether it meant she
wanted to rewind the world
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
and go back to the way life used to be
with her, it was, \"I\'m done with this
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
and I want to move on to the next stage.\"
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
Even though she cannot speak,
there is a quality about her
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
that has maintained itself,
that makes the staff
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
love taking care of her.
It makes them love her
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
and there\'s been a quality of her that has made
other people really love her all of her life.
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
And it\'s amazing that that
quality is still there.
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:48.000
[music]
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
I can\'t help but wonder
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
what mom will be like when
she\'s at grandma\'s age?
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
I don\'t want my mom to be scared of aging.
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
[music]
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
And I think having a mother like
Polly can make you scared of aging.
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:33.000
[music]
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
[sil.]
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
We just did a program called,
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
when to review your will?
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
St. Peter is waiting. Are you ready?
That\'s the title of this.
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
You\'re invited this time, huh?
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
I what? You\'re in front of the cameras this time
rather than behind it. I\'m rather than behind it,
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
I know. I know, it\'s crazy. Knock, knock.
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
Where are you going? I don\'t know.
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
Dakin Henderson came to see you. Hi, Ruth.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
My God! Yeah. Dakin Henderson,
Dakin Henderson, Dakin Henderson,
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
you\'ve grown big. You want some help?
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
Okay, so you\'re often (inaudible).
This is fun.
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
I don\'t know whether I\'m
gonna to have any fun but…
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
Well, you usually do, don\'t you? You\'re
not there yet. I\'m not there yet.
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
Yeah. You have to go down the hall here.
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
Don\'t do that.
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
You\'re… you\'re either telling the person you\'re looking at
that he\'s crazy or you\'re telling yourself you\'re crazy.
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
Well, that\'s what I\'m… Yeah.
No. You\'re not.
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
Take care. Bye-bye.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
Have a good time.
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
Good to see you, Ruth. I
don\'t want to be like that.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
And you know that. Yeah. You know it.
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:33.000
[music]
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
Ruth is one of those distant relatives
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
who I never really knew how to act around.
She was always really old,
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
always kind of goofy. She
liked to give high fives.
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
One, two, three, four, five.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
Yeah. She seems pretty happy.
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
I mean, considering she\'s 95 years old.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
Would I want to live like that?
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
I\'m not sure.
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:38.000
[music]
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
But there was still something
I couldn\'t understand.
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
I liked Ruth. I mean, if
you could live that long,
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
why wouldn\'t you just
want to keep on going.
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
Your body is nothing but
a house for your soul,
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
and there comes a time when
your body starts to fall apart
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
and it\'s no longer a decent
place for you as a person
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
and it\'s time to let your spirit
out of that crumbling uh… house.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
Our medical system now as focus
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
so on extending life beyond the point
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
where the… you know, the
house is falling down.
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
Grandma Edie\'s thoughts about all this went
beyond what she wanted for her own experience.
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
So I hope I\'ll bring to whoever
I\'m talking to down there
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
quite a different perspective
on their profession.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
I appreciate your coming it\'s wonderful to see so
many people. I really feel very honored to be here.
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
I am 86 years old and although
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
I think I still have it pretty
well put together mentally,
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
I do know that there are changes occurring
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
and I see it not only in myself
but my friends at Kendal.
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
For example, I know someone who
had a visit from her minister,
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
not long ago, this lady had a
lovely old pump organ in her home,
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
and our minister sat down
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
and he looked and on the
top of the pump organ
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
was a crystal glass bowl filled with water.
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
And floating on the top of
the water was a condom,
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
and he looked and he looked…
Yes, that\'s what it was.
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
After awhile his curiosity
knew no bounds, and he said,
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
\"Could you tell me about that
bowl on your… on your organ?\"
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
And she said, \"I was walking
down the street the other day
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
and I saw this little box on the
sidewalk and I picked it up
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
and open it up and the directions said,
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
\"Keep this wet. Put it on your organ
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
and you will be spared
all kinds of diseases.\"
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
Oh my God. And she said, \"And I
haven\'t have a cold or (inaudible).\"
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:38.000
[sil.]
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
She (inaudible)… Seriously.
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
I feel strongly about the need for
medical practitioners and care givers.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
That will on the (inaudible).
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
Fabulous. No, this is a serious topic
I lovely get onto (inaudible).
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
And I believe that working together we,
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
the elderly are family members and
you in the health care profession
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
can overcome the fear and stress,
that so many of us encounter today.
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
[music]
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
I never knew grandma Edie was so
outspoken about end of life issues
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
until a couple of years ago when
she started appearing in the news.
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
Thank you so much for sharing this to all. Edie
Gieg looks and acts a lot younger than her age.
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
She may be healthy but the 85-year-old has
given a lot of thought to what lies ahead.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
There\'s a huge amount of denial
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
about what goes on at the end of life.
Apparently a lot of people are talking about
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
how messed up our medical system is
when it comes to treating older people.
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
She knows it many elderly people aren\'t lucky enough to
die suddenly that it is often a slow painful progression…
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
What grandma Edie was saying, part
of the problem is and families.
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
Some of the most difficult situations
occur when somebody like myself would say
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
to their doctor, \"Look, I don\'t want
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
to drag on for years and years,\" but
that person hasn\'t really discussed
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
with their children what they
want at the end of life.
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
Oh, Dita, how could you…
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
I have lived a wonderful full life.
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
So that from here on out
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
if things go downhill and
I get incapacitated.
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
I want… I want to have
the ability to opt out.
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
You know, so far you\'re
aging pretty gracefully.
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
Umm… But you… suppose you go
into sort of a gradual decline.
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
I\'m already going… And like… Well, you are.
Yeah. But… but okay. So… so it gets worst,
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
kind a like… kind of like Ruth or… or
somebody. Yeah. Okay. That\'s a good example.
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
So you don\'t want that. No way. But you
may have difficulty recognizing yourself.
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
When is the time to stop eating
or drinking or whatever?
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
That\'s when it\'s gonna
be really hard I think
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
for everybody to say, \"Okay. Now\'s the time
and… and then… and then… and then what.
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
They\'re still dying in there. Don\'t take a picture
of them still squirming around in that hot water.
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
Put the lid down. Oh, terrible.
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
Mom talks a lot about end of life
00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
and it doesn\'t interest me that much.
Right now
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
I feel very much alive and that\'s
what I like to talk about.
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
Mom\'s prolonged preoccupation
with how to die.
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
Uh… It\'s been going on for years, you
know, it\'s like, let\'s put it to rest
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
and go do something else. And after awhile
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
I find the frequent subject of end of life
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
to be a bit tedious.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
But I\'m not there yet. And
even mom is not there yet.
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
I thought grandma Edie had covered just about
everything, so we can move on from these conversations,
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
but then one day she decided
to have surgery on her knee
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
and all of a sudden things weren\'t so clear anymore.
This has been a lot of activity for you today, so…
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
We got in this operation.
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
I was totally numb from the waist down,
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
and there were the usual
sounds of sawing and you know,
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
all these kind of thing. So the next
thing above my… my visual barrier,
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
(inaudible) yelled up in this
forceps, what, I tell you,
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
it looked like a lobster meat.
So that was fascinating.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
Good. Good.
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
She had her surgery on
Friday and I walked in
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
not long after she was out of the
operating room and at that moment
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
her blood pressure had dropped and
her heart rate was down in the 40s
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
and they were doing an EKG and things were
happening and we didn\'t know what and I thought…
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
And for all the times and
even the doctors were saying,
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
she\'s tells us on the operating table, she has a do not resuscitate
order, be sure not to resuscitate her if something goes wrong.
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
I\'m watching this going on and I\'m thinking
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
but she can have a very
happy life out of her,
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
of course we\'re not gonna stop.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
Well, she had written things like, you know, here
are some conditions that are unacceptable to me
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
and some of those conditions were conditions which
people live happily… happy lives functioning with.
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
\"You know, mom what if you\'re
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
out of it mentally but
seemed perfectly happy.\"
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
\"Don\'t let me, don\'t feed me.\"
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
Umm… She goes… That\'ll be
the hard part for you,
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
so it will be hard.
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
So the cart is over to the right.
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
I feel like there was a period
where we had to decide,
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
you know, do we
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
take means to keep her alive
and we sort of all agreed no,
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
but then she went in to this bizarre
several year period of staying alive
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
without much help.
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
So it wasn\'t like there was a machine to turn off. She
would eat a half a teaspoon of yogurt a day kind of thing
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
and live for two years.
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
For operator assistance at anytime
during your call, press *0.
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
[sil.]
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
Hello! Hello!
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
Hello! Is everybody here? Yes.
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
So we\'ll start with a
general nursing assessment
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
that Holly can share with us from
this last quarter about your mom.
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
I have… I have one question, this is Rob. What\'s her
weight now? Thirty days ago her weight was 78.6,
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
so she\'s actually gained about 1.3 pounds.
00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
Six months ago, uh… her
weight was 81 pounds
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
but I think what is also
of note is one year ago
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
in January of her weight…
her weight was 69 pounds.
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
So during the last… Fifty nine?
Sixty nine. What?
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
Wait a minute. Sixty nine.
Correct. Six nine.
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
Six nine, one year ago. Yes. Wow! What…
what would you attribute the increase to?
00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
Umm… I think what we\'ve
noticed over the years,
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
I mean, she had sometimes when she refused
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
to allow us to assist her to eat, umm…
it was definitely clear to the staff
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
that she would turn her head away, or I mean,
a year ago we were still trying to see
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
if she would somewhat participate
in the feeding process.
00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
Umm… But when we tried to assist her, she might turn
her head away. There was some clenching of her teeth,
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
you know, obvious indicators to us
that she didn\'t want to have anymore.
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
[sil.]
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
So Ms. P. This is a first day of like,
we\'re not having the low zero weather.
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
And you gonna take grandma outside?
Not in this.
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
She\'s too frail and fragile.
She\'s like a little leaf.
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
Thousands of dollars a month are
being spent to keep her comfortable,
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
and you know, when you say wow,
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
what could we have done with $10,000 if we
didn\'t spend it to keep grandma comfortable,
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
you know, how many children could you vaccinate in the
world and all that, when you start playing that game,
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
it… it becomes, it was complicated to say,
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
you know, we\'re spending so much money for
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
not a lot of quality of life.
00:35:55.000 --> 00:36:03.000
[music]
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
She probably would have
voted for give me the pill
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
that lets me go to sleep tonight
not wake up, but who knows.
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
That\'s the… and… and isn\'t that the question, you know,
am I willing not to say… I am willing not to say,
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
when I\'m in her shoes, give
me the pill that, you know,
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
says, \"I don\'t wake up in the
morning and save all that money.\"
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
You know, but that\'s a
fascinating thing to declare
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
\'cause what if you\'re sitting there inside your body saying, \"No, no. I\'m
still getting something out of life, and you\'re about to give me the pill.
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
I just can\'t tell you on getting something
out of life.\" It\'s complicated.
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
Look, here\'s her cart.
She knows how to cart.
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
[sil.]
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
Hello? Hello?
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
How are you? Oh, I\'m fine.
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
Good to see you. Oh my Lord.
We got some flowers.
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
Send off by your son. Oh my God.
You are gorgeous people.
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
But from all of us. Happy Valentines Day.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
Oh beautiful, beautiful.
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
You repair the knee
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
but it obviously has affected the something
else in the body, namely the ankle one.
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
And, you know, I\'m… I\'m impatient.
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
Hi, Joanne. Hi, how are you?
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
Good, thanks. I look around me
here at my some of my friends
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
who had been limping around or
using walkers and so forth,
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
and I\'m thinking, I look like she does.
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
Even at my age, it\'s hard to accept
that I\'m not going to be able to
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
go on the way I\'ll go with and used to.
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
Well, here we are. Hello, dear lady.
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
Beautiful lady. Good morning, (inaudible).
Good morning. Hi, dear.
00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
You\'re offered fitness (inaudible)?
I don\'t know what I\'m doing.
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
You don\'t know what you\'re doing. Oh, dear.
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
You know who I am? Yes. Saw
you at the (inaudible).
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
Okay. And you know that I\'m her sister?
Yes, I know that.
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
Okay. Well, I\'m glad. Thank you.
Yeah. Hang on.
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
Do you remember that… do you
remember Dakin Henderson? Hi, Ruth.
00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
My grandson. Good to see you.
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
Long time no see. Yeah. Yeah.
Long time no see.
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
So we\'re gonna take you to fitness (inaudible),
is that right? You like to do that?
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
I don\'t know whether I\'ll like it or not.
00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
Well, you can go and watch for
awhile maybe. How about that?
00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
How about that. I\'ll give u a ride.
You\'re all set.
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
Is the gas tank full? The gas tank is full.
Your oxygen tank is full,
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
and we do need to release the brakes. Okay.
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
[sil.]
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
You haven\'t forgotten. That\'s… that\'s fun.
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
Funny lady.
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
Four, five,
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
two, three, four,
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
five, six, seven,
00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
eight, nine, ten.
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
(inaudible) gently down the street.
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:23.000
(inaudible).
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
[music]
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
I remember the first time I realized
life wouldn\'t last forever.
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
We\'re at an amusement park.
I was maybe nine or ten.
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
Waiting in line for the Yankee
cannon ball roller coaster.
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
The drop was high. I was
nervous and excited.
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
Anxious to get to the front of the line, but
secretly wishing that drop would never come.
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:18.000
[music]
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
In a heartbeat, the ride was over.
00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
For the rest of the day, I kept remembering how
nervous I had been before that roller coaster.
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
How at that moment I
wanted both to speed up
00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
and slow down time.
00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
And yet the future came and
went anyway at its own pace.
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
[music]
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
The day was over before I knew it and
now that thought is just a memory,
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
something that reminds me
of the time that\'s passed.
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:08.000
[music]
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
It still works. It still works.
It\'s amazing.
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
Oh, you getting rid of this?
You know, it looks like junk.
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
Get rid of that. Is this an art project?
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
I don\'t know, it must have had a head. I
think it had a head that\'s fallen off.
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
Well, just keep in mind that our longer-term goal which is to
move out of this house at some point in time and downsize…
00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
There you go. I mean, and when we do
that, we don\'t want to have to be
00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
acting as a storage house
for you or Nathan.
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
A+. Excellent job, Dakin Henderson.
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
B+. Oops! Here\'s a B. Looks like
it took a dive on that one.
00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
Oh wow. Throw it out.
Throw all this stuff out.
00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
Look, at what a naughty (inaudible) he was.
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
You\'ll never look at it,
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
I guarantee it. Mom, if I asked you to help me
go through this stuff and choose what to keep,
00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
what… what would you advise me to do? I
think the first 18 years of your life
00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
are easy to forget
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
and it\'s interesting to have something that
reminds you, that you got an A+ at one point.
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:38.000
[music]
00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
I would like to reinvent
myself one more time.
00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
[sil.]
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
You know, go and live some other country.
00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
You got to get rid of the
children though, I guess.
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
[music]
00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
[sil.]
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
The next the event that\'ll happen in
our everyday little life is Halloween
00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
and wonder how it always
have a Halloween party
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
they live down the street. And every
year I go to that party, I say,
00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
\"Weren\'t we just hear?\" So
whatever that feeling is
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
happens all the time, you know.
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
When I turn 80, that… that\'s in 66 years,
00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
so I think it might be a little early
00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
to worry about that.
00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
Like my sister she does have that fear,
and she freaked out when she turned 17.
00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
I don\'t want to get wrinkles.
I don\'t want to look old.
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
I don\'t want to be old, I don\'t want to
look old. And I was like, \"Nina, your 17.
00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
You got… you got a long way to go.\" And I\'m not…
No, I\'m not halfway to 50. You are halfway to 50.
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
I\'m halfway to 50, but I\'m… I\'d be afraid.
00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
Are you? It\'s scary to think about
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
that like eventually we\'re
gonna be old like that
00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
and like possibly end up late grandma, not
be able to do anything or speak even,
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
like she was and that\'s scary.
I mean, but… it\'s different,
00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
thinking about turning 18 and
thinking about being like 80s.
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:28.000
[music]
00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
What do you think about growing old?
How do you want to grow old?
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
I don\'t know. I always kinda wanna be a crotchety
old dude. I don\'t know what that means.
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
[music]
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
And who knows what it means. I mean, maybe grandma\'s
functioning inside there and she just can\'t express it,
00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
and maybe she saying, \"God
damn it, just let me die,\"
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
or maybe she saying, \"Thank goodness. I\'ve
got to see it in another three years of life
00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
because I got to see…\" Maybe the
world is like watching TV for her.
00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
Right. Who knows. And I don\'t know,
I\'m not too worried about it,
00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
you know, I think I hope I have… I
hope I have a company, you know.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
I think if anything would worry me,
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
it would be being alone, and not just… I mean,
if my partner passes on that\'s part of life
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
but if nobody was… nobody gave a crap,
00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
nobody came and said hi or anything.
I\'d be hard.
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
Sure, you would. Do you think about…
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
Do you think about the end, do you
think about what happens after death?
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
No. Not really. Why not? Too young still.
00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
I sort of believe I\'m a
physical being, and when I die,
00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
I don\'t get to fertilize couple
of tomato plants, who knows.
00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
Honorable fate. Thanks. Certainly.
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
Do you think about the end?
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
Yeah. I mean death is
probably the scariest thought
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
that I can conjure.
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
[sil.]
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
I\'m so sure I\'m not the one that\'s gonna drop dead of a heart
attack. I\'m so sure I\'m not going to die in a car accident.
00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
I just know I\'m not. Maybe
everybody thinks they know that
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
what\'s their habits but I just know I\'m not. Do you feel that
way? Is it obvious to you you\'re not gonna die in a car crash?
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
It was before last April.
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
[sil.]
00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
Begin. Begin. When you set off that
morning to go and play Frisbee, right?
00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
And you were on your (inaudible),
I mean, tell… roll it for me.
00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
All right. Well, it began
like any other Sunday.
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
I\'ll describe it and then you\'ll have to just
like, take a deep breath because like I told you,
00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
you weren\'t there, so you didn\'t see it. So you could only here
and try to recreate it in your mind by what people will tell you.
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
[music]
00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
I had gotten there and warmed up
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
and I was standing on the
sideline and just notice that you
00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
folded on the sideline. One knee
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
and then just splat red on the ground.
00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
And what are you 6\'3, 6\'4, so for somebody
to just suddenly crumble to the ground,
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
and like, basically lay on their
face, we thought you had a cramp.
00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
So we ran up to you and said, \"Dakin Henderson, are
you all right? Do you have a cramp, what\'s going on?\"
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
And you didn\'t move. It so we turned
you over and you still didn\'t move,
00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
didn\'t respond, you weren\'t breathing.
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
After a period of… of just waiting,
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
the decision was made quite
suddenly to implement CPR.
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
One of them started pumping your chest and one
of them started breathing into your mouth.
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
[music]
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
Your heart stopped. When
you… when we assessing CPR,
00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
you know, we\'re… we\'re looking for your breathing, we\'re feeling for
your respirations. There was none. We\'re feeling to feeling for pulse,
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
you know, umm… to see if your heart
is beating, there was nothing.
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
Umm… And I actually… my hand was actually on your chest ready to do
a third cycle of compressions when I felt your heart start to beat.
00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
And I… then it was a continuous beat,
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
and that\'s when you took your that…
that breath. And your color came back.
00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
[music]
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
And it seemed at the time that you failed to
appreciate the gravity of what had happened.
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
That, a couple of our teammates
effectively saved your life
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
and then you needn\'t necessarily
have been around anymore.
00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
[music]
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
First saved voice message. Hi, hi, my
name is (inaudible) Dakin Henderson
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
and found your number in his phone.
Umm… We were playing (inaudible),
00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
he umm… collapsed on the field. He\'s with
medics right now, and trying to reach someone
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
who might be umm… able to come here and give more
information. Umm… Call me back up. (inaudible).
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
Okay, thank you. Bye.
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
End of message. To return the call, press
88. To erase this message, press 7.
00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
To send a reply message, press 8.
To save it, press 9.
00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
[music]
00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
By the time I reached the ER,
00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
I was conscious and alert but
most of all I was confused.
00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
I felt like saying this is all just a big
mistake. I\'m actually fine, thank you.
00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
[music]
00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
I felt so out of place, like a healthy
person trapped in someone else\'s body.
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
[music]
00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
I spent three days in the hospital, and
after testing me for just about everything,
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
the doctors couldn\'t arrive at an
explanation for what had happened.
00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
Finally, they just let me go.
00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
I wanted to laugh it off. My perspective
of the whole situation was…
00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
Is very pleasant. I took a nap. Yeah. And that\'s what… in
fact, that\'s what you said to me. You said you took a nap.
00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
You said you just passed out
and you took a little nap.
00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
My heart jumps every time, like when I saw you
again my kinda dumped and skipped a beat,
00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
every time I see you,
it does that, you know.
00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
Because basically what that means is I was
dead for two minutes and came. Yes, it does.
00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
That\'s exactly what it means. So
you would thought to entertain…
00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
Yeah. So do you understand why I
think about you often, and I do.
00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
I think about you often just wondering how you\'re doing and
hoping that you\'re… you\'re healthy and safe and living your life.
00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
[sil.]
00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
I had always been scared of
that unanswerable question,
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
what happens after death? But for some
reason that didn\'t matter anymore.
00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
Instead, this time I thought of my mother,
00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
my family and then I think I realized
00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
that the thought of my own
death isn\'t just about me.
00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
When someone dies, what does it
mean for the people left behind?
00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:14.999
Right. Well, no one from Kendal has called.
00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.999
I mean, it was Frank that called. I… I managed
to get a hold of that just a little while ago
00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.999
and I think what I\'m doing
is changing my plans so…
00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:29.999
so I can figure out the
time to go up there.
00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:34.999
[sil.]
00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.999
I always get the creeps little
bit coming down this hall.
00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
You know Sam that Frank has
basically had dinner with mom
00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
every night for last three years.
00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:58.000
[sil.]
00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
She\'s breathing. This is
basically quite cold.
00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
Yeah. I\'m so glad you did.
00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
Something else. Yeah.
00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:19.999
And I haven\'t seen her open her eyes.
00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.999
Sam for me, it\'s a little creepy
00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
but also just from a scientific point of view,
she doesn\'t have a lot of liquid in her,
00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
and she doesn\'t drink anymore, so like things like her ear
lobes are shrinking because there\'s no water in her body.
00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.999
You learned in science, what percent
of your body is water? Right.
00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:44.999
Shrivels up because there\'s no liquid.
And we all come to this sometime.
00:55:45.000 --> 00:55:49.999
We\'re (inaudible). All in different ways.
00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:54.999
We asked if we could take her
out today and they said no.
00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.999
No, yeah. I wanted to anyway just to
give her a good breath of fresh air.
00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.999
(inaudible) sounded very well about
carrying her out. Yes, she has.
00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
Bunker is saying you expect every
breath to be her last. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
She\'s very, very thin.
00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
We\'re talking Frank about she looks like
00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
a Edward Monk painting, you
know, the screaming things.
00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
Boy, go on, if you haven\'t seen this, you
don\'t know what those paintings are mean…
00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
(inaudible)… And I don\'t
know how they can tell,
00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
uh… she\'s experiencing
pain, but they said that
00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
the amount of Tylenol they
give her seems to be effective
00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
and umm… keep her comfortable.
00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
You know, I\'m… I feel that most of the time
00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
she\'s been reasonably… reasonably
comfortable. Yeah. Yeah.
00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:08.000
[music]
00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:14.999
Sammy, is that you? Oh…
00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.999
Yeah, it\'s tough.
00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:24.999
You didn\'t know it was
(inaudible) feelings.
00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.999
[sil.]
00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:34.999
You wanna go outside? Let\'s go.
00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:39.999
See you grandma.
00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:48.000
[music]
00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.999
(inaudible) question, \"When did she really
die?\" Like she slowly declined for 10 years,
00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:24.999
so when did I get to grieve
the loss of my mother
00:58:25.000 --> 00:58:29.999
and that\'s a sort of
unsatisfying answer that it was
00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:34.999
just a 10-year slow dribble away
00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:39.999
as opposed to a death that one day
you wake up and go, \"Oh my God,
00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.999
she died and now I have feeling about it.\" It\'s
like she died every day a little bit for 10 years.
00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:53.000
[music]
00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.999
[sil.]
00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.999
You know… Focused and that (inaudible)
to know what\'s better. Yeah.
00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:34.999
I\'ll cut. So (inaudible) works.
Yeah, and then disappeared.
00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:39.999
I\'m gonna be back.
00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:44.999
Just hang on.
00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:50.000
[music]
00:59:55.000 --> 01:00:00.000
[music]
01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:18.000
[music]
01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:44.999
So I finally got myself an apartment
and I\'ve started my own life.
01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:49.999
I like riding my bike around the city
even though I know it\'s dangerous.
01:00:50.000 --> 01:00:54.999
And as each day goes by since my
heart stopped on the Frisbee field,
01:00:55.000 --> 01:00:59.999
I\'m less worried about whether I might drop dead any minute
than I am about, you know, how am I gonna live my life.
01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:08.000
[music]
01:01:10.000 --> 01:01:14.999
Grandma Edie, of course, is still going
strong. Her ankle is slowed it down some
01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:19.999
but she still moves faster than most of us
01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:24.999
and who knows if we\'ll be able to control her death,
but when it comes time for my parents to die,
01:01:25.000 --> 01:01:29.999
I sure hope we can talk about it.
01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:34.999
As for grandma Polly, it\'s
actually easier to remember her
01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:39.999
now that she\'s gone.
01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:44.999
[music]
01:01:45.000 --> 01:01:49.999
My parents think it\'s not really a (inaudible)
small kind of a celebration of (inaudible) life.
01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:54.999
Polly!
01:01:55.000 --> 01:01:59.999
So it\'s not sad for me. It was sad before…
01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:04.999
I think it\'s fun seeing everybody.
01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:09.999
[music]
01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:14.999
It\'s the first time I\'ve ever said,
wow, you know, mortalities exists.
01:02:15.000 --> 01:02:19.999
[music]
01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:24.999
Suddenly, it\'s like I\'m… I\'m
aware of the years left.
01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:33.000
[music]
01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:44.999
Every day from now on for you
should be a visceral gift, right.
01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:49.999
You… you know that this day doesn\'t actually
belong to me. It was given back to me kind.
01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:58.000
[music]
01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:05.000
And probably that\'s true for all of us
every day. Tomorrow is not promised.
Distributor: Terra Nova Films
Length: 64 minutes
Date: 2012
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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