My dad went into a coma after two strokes. I had recently learned the “three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food” thing. Per his documented wishes, no attempt was made to keep him going. I was astounded at how long he kept breathing. Every day I expected to wake up to a message saying that he had died, but he just kept going. (He did eventually die but it took a lot longer than anticipated.)

My mom experienced end stage renal disease. She stated that she could feel herself mentally deteriorating and had no hope of improving in the future. She chose to take herself off of dialysis. Five days into that week she also went into a coma. Two days later she was dead.

Sorry. I had a point I was trying to make (lack of intake can hurt you but the details vary) but I got distracted.