Which scenerio is worse: the death of a parent or a parent forgetting about the existance of his or her child (due to a coma or some other cause)?

There would always be hope if the parent is alive.

A living relative seems better than a dead one in this case.

They’re both better than a sharp stick in the eye.

When my father had his last heart attack, it took a long time for the fire department to get to him. When they were unable to save him, one of the firemen told my mom that it was lucky they couldn’t, because he would have been severely mentally damaged had he lived.
I have always been grateful that my memories of my father are of him in full control of his mind.

Even if the parents memory is lost, much of it can be relearned and a new relationship can be built with a living parent. There is always hope of the lost memory returning over time.

There is no hope of a realtionship with a dead parent.

In the case you cite, it is likely that the mother and daughter can rebuild a relationship. I’ve often thought that losing a parent to Alzheimer’s to the extent that they have no memory of you would be much more painful than their death (at a reasonable age.)

It is, janbb.

@filmfann & @janbb You hit it right on the head. My mom died of cancer 10 years ago. She was down to 60 lbs. But she had her full mental capacity. I talked to her on the phone the night before she died. She knew her surroundings & she knew me. I’d have died if she’d have been out of touch with reality. Our daughter is an RN. She said the most horrible thing in the world is when someone doesn’t even know their own family. How heart wrenching.