My grandmother was cursed with a hardy body but an Alzheimer-ridden brain,, so ended up living in a facility through most of her 80's, eventually dying at 91 (I think?). She was totally confused for at least five years, with a memory span of literally seconds. She was (understandably) a combination of angry, irritated and sad through that time, and eventually even stopped smiling when family would show up, the last sign of any fleeting joy in her life. Keeping her alive wasn't only inhumane, it was downright cruel, both for the torture she was in, and because her proud and healthy previous self would have been absolutely mortified at the indignities of that 'life'.
Absolutely nobody involved thought this was anything less than awful, from the doctors who could only bring bad news to the care workers who endured so much that it made them jaded and bitter to the family who visited without any joy. But endless energy, time and money was spent to carry on with the sham because there wasn't anything else to do. I simply can't believe there isn't a way to set up some sort of system where people in early-stage cognitive failure can't agree on some trigger points that would allow for the use of MAID. It's not like miracle cures are on their way for anyone at that point...
