In 2004 my dad suffered a brain hemorrhage/stroke. He was 81, but otherwise fit and in good health...non-smoker non-drinker. Both of his parents had lived beyond their mid-eighties and died of 'old age'.

He was taken to the small local hospital, where I went immediately to be at his side. He was unconscious and continually fitting. It was horrible.

I asked the doctors why he couldn't be taken to the main hospital about 20 miles away (where he could have had the pressure on his brain relieved), and the doctor told me that because of his age and that he had a heart murmur, it would probably be a waste of time.

He died, seemngly in agony, a few hours later, me still holding his hand.