Spectrum

"Perhaps the classification as 'dying' is really more like height than it is like gender. Some people are clearly 'tall' or 'short' but many are 'in between.' Likewise, some people are clearly 'dying' or 'fully healthy,' but many are 'in between.' In fact, most of us will die without having a period when we could readily be recognized as 'dying' or 'terminally ill.' The new reality is that most of us will die from complications of a serious chronic illness that we will 'live with' for years. There will only occasionally be a transition from the 'living with' to a time of 'dying from.'"
-Joanne Lynn, Joan Harrold, Handbook for Mortals

Image is Still Life with a Skull, by Philippe de Champaigne, 17th century, in the public domain, from Wikipedia.