Is there something worse than dying? What is it and why do you feel it is worse? Explain your answer.
This weekend has been quite a lousy one for me, because I came down with Covid and had to spend most of my time in bed and isolated in my room. At the same time, one of my close relatives was hospitalised and me being Covid-positive meant I couldn't visit her. So that actually gave me some inspiration for this prompt, but apologies in advance if I sound incoherent in my writing today.
1) Being sick
I think being sick sometimes is actually worse than dying. I mean, really, really sick. The physical and mental torture from all the headaches, fatigue, non-stop coughing, outweighs the pain from an instant death.
As for me this weekend, I tested positive on Saturday. My symptoms weren't life-threatening but they weren't that mild. I had persistent fever yesterday that just wouldn't come down even with paracetamol (fortunately the fever subsided today), but the worst part was the coughing and sore throat.
However, not everyone is as "fortunate" as I am. We all see in the news daily about how many people required ICU attention or needed oxygen supplementation as they struggle to fight their lives. And many of them sadly lost their lives in the battle. Not just to Covid, but many other illnesses too.
I guess compared to a painless death (e.g. due to old age), it's probably far worse to be sick and struggling to survive.
2) Loved ones dying/being sick
As I mentioned earlier, one of my close relatives was hospitalised on Friday and naturally I was concerned and wanted to pay her a visit at the hospital. However, because I came down with Covid (fortunately I did a test in the morning before going), the current regulations in my country meant I had to self-isolate for 72 hours before I get tested again to see if I could exit self-isolation. This meant I wouldn't be able to visit her and it was a terrible feeling to be sick in bed and also worrying about my close relative at the same time.
As we grow older, I think we start to appreciate the people around us more and we also start to have dependants, be it kids, parents, or close relatives. Sometimes I feel that it's more painful to watch our loved ones die or being sick, and at times, we even hope we are the ones suffering instead so that they don't have to go through such pain.
So that's all for my sharing of these two situations which I think are worse than dying. In my mean time, I have my bed and my medications to accompany me while I continue my self isolation in my room. Thanks for reading and have a pleasant weekend ahead!
