This reminds me of something.
When I was a child, our cat got sick, really sick. And was probably going to die. She stopped eating and started laying around. Whenever I was home I would spend all of my time with her and try to get her to eat or drink water sometimes, or talk to her, or just sit there while she slept. This one day I had this horrible feeling when I left school, and my mom was picking me up, and as soon as I saw her I said "you had her put to sleep didn't you." I was upset because I wasn't able to say goodbye to her and because I believed there was still a chance that she could get better - I wasn't ready to "give up on her."
My mom (ESE) said that she couldn't allow her to suffer anymore. My mom was tuned in to how much she was suffering and how much pain she must be in... I wasn't oblivious to this... but I was focused on the idea of "fighting to live" or "the will to live" or some belief that there was still a chance, that it could still be okay, that if she would just start eating and fight it then she'd get better again. But I was focused on this because of my emotional attachment to her... because I didn't want her to die... and though I loved her a lot, maybe it was because I "wasn't ready to say good bye."
In retrospect, I think my mom was right. I mean, I had thought that we were probably going to have to put her to sleep... but I wanted to wait just a little while longer... and "give her a little more time" or "give her a chance." But she had stopped eating... I saw it as giving up... and I think part of me wanted to "convince her" not to give up.