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Felix Silverstone
Bella Silverstone is Felix’s wife. In her late 80s, Bella’s vision degenerates and she becomes very frail. She and Felix live together in a retirement home until one day she falls and breaks both legs. As a result, she moves to a nursing home unit and staff members have to help her bathe and dress, making Bella feel that she has no control over her life or her actions. Seeing her helplessness, Felix moves her back to their apartment. This proves crucial, as four days after her casts come off, she passes away. But Felix is glad that he could provide her with some autonomy and comfort in the final days of her life, knowing that these things are just as crucial as safety.
Bella Silverstone Quotes in Being Mortal
The Being Mortal quotes below are all either spoken by Bella Silverstone or refer to Bella Silverstone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3 Quotes
Their apartment was only a floor away. But somehow that made all the difference. Exactly why can be hard to pinpoint. Felix still ended up hiring an around-the-clock staff of nurses and aides. And the remaining six weeks until the casts could come off were physically exhausting for him. Yet he was relieved. He and Bella felt more control over her life. She was in her own place, in her own bed, with him beside her. And that mattered tremendously to him. Because four days after the casts came off, four days after she’d begun walking again, she died.
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Bella Silverstone Character Timeline in Being Mortal
The timeline below shows where the character Bella Silverstone appears in Being Mortal. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...was 82, at which point he had to retire to take care of his wife, Bella, who became almost completely blind. They moved into a retirement community for people over 75,...
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...retirement home and forms a journal-reading club for retirement physicians. Most importantly, he cares for Bella. He knows that he has to be honest with himself about his progress, because if...
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One evening, Gawande goes to dinner with Felix and Bella. Felix helps Bella sit and orders for her, as she can’t read the menu. When...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...but eventually losses accumulate. For Felix, it isn’t his own problems that accumulate, it is Bella’s. She loses her vision completely, her hearing becomes poor, and her memory is impaired. Still,...
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One day, Bella develops a cold, and her eardrum ruptures from fluid accumulating. As a result, she becomes...
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Then, one day, Bella falls and snaps her fibula in both legs—she has to move to the nursing home...
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Felix moves Bella back downstairs, though the staff continues to work in Felix and Bella’s home. Felix feels...
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