Maggiebee, this isn't really an answer, but, this is exactly what I needed to read. You see, I've been agonizing over something similar to this. My mother has been an active alcoholic my whole life. When I was a young child she wasnt that bad. But after my sister was killed in a hunting accident in 1995 she has become a mean, bitter woman. Her own siblings that are still alive want nothing to do with her. While drunk, many times over the years, she has said alot of mean and hurtful things to me, letting me know that I will never measure up to her standards. She would tell me things like "God took my good daugher" and even saying she wished it was me in the ground instead of my sister. And many other similar statements. It tore my heart out to hear these things from my own mother. In an effort of self preservation, I stopped talking to her several years ago. She has no friends there, preferring to bask in her misery alone. My oldest daughter talks to her regularly on the phone. She is 78 years old, still drinking, and has just found out she has esophageal cancer. I am her only surviving child now. My stepdad and my Dad have both passed. I have been agonizing over should I move back to Louisiana(I've lived in Phoenix since 1991)to take care of her when and if she gets really sick and is at the end of her life? Do I open myself up to the emotional abuse that took years to heal the pain she has inflicked on my heart? I've prayed about this and I've asked my Angels for guidance. I think your question has answered that for me. You are absolutely right! No nobody deserves to die alone. I love my mother, even if I don't like her. She is my mother. I will show her that even if she doesn't, I have the capacity for unconditional love. I have the capacity to forgive. I should take care of my mother like an only child should in her twilight days. Because that is what I would want for myself. "Do unto others..... Thank you so much for reminding me that there are some things bigger than our own pain sometimes. Maybe my kindness and compassion for her will help to heal her own pain from her losses. Today you have reminded me to be a better person. Thank you from the bottom of my Heart! I send you much Love and Light!