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I realize my father has vascular dementia and is 78 years old, but he also has a vast array of other problems; diabetes type ll insulin dependent, gout, congestive heart failure, COPD/emphysema, a permanent colostomy from colon cancer, coronary atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), ploymyalgia rheumatica PMR, depression, and a pace maker due to chronic systolic heart failure, but I cannot get an honest answer from his geriatrician, not even an estimate of how much longer this man has to live. He is exhibiting stages 5 and 6 of the vascular dementia. Has anyone else had problems getting a physician to give you a guesstimation of how much longer your loved one has to live?
I realize with everything he has going on, it's hard to give me a definitive time line, but that's not what I'm asking for! I just want to know 1 year, 2 years or 5 or more?
Forgive me for being selfish, but I'd like to be able to make future plans in my life and I can barely make plans to go out on a Friday night!

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Unfortunaty probably no doc can give you that answer-and if she or he does it is a guessamit at best-I too like to plan ahead-I never expected my husband to die at 71. It usually is not up to us humans to know how long we will live-17 yr. olds die every day -my granddaughter lose a good friend at age 14 with a minor health problem.
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195Austin, I appreciate your answer and understand that we all have our "own" time to go. That is not up to us.
We try to live like each day is the best yet to come, but selfishly, like many others on this forum, I'll admit it, I'm tired (not nearly as tired as he is).
He was never a part of my life, but as his only living relative, we took him in out of the kindness of hearts.
I know too that today could be my last day on this earth; no one knows for certain, but I find the doctor giving him false hopes that he will drive again and such. I know he's just trying to give him something to live for, but then my husband and I have to live with this and keep the keys away from him, telling him there is something wrong with his vehicle. This is unfair to us.
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BTW, he also has HBP and high cholesterol. We are currently counting out of 33 pill bottles and 2 syringes keeping him going every day. Of course we only put the pill box together once a week, because things suddenly and a medication that he took last week, he may not be taking this week. Everyday is different.
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My mother drove into her 90's and was not a good drive but her jerky doc encouraged her-my son said she should have taken him out for a spin-but he wanted to be her hero so said it was great she was still driving-God steped in-my nephews had an accident while using her car and it was totaled so her driving was over at age 92.
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