Suicide is a touchy subject for most people, but it's a huge profit center for funeral homes. When a loved one is elderly or terminal, most people start the grieving process before they lose that person. But when someone kills themselves, they leave a wake of people who seem to feel like they should have done more. Should have done better for the deceased. This leads to higher priced services so the loved ones can prove they really did care about the person who took their life. (There is a small percentage of families who have no service and just do a simple cremation if someone commits suicide, but this is a rarity.)
Not to long ago I was called into work by my employers sister company to do a massive reconstruction. A 16 year old boy decided to end his life with a shot gun in the mouth. The family wanted an open casket, and as you can imagine, he was in no shape for it. When I arrived I found that he was already prepped (washed and embalmed) and I was just to work on what was left of his head.
After assessing the situation, and taking a trip to the local hardware store (no Lowes in sight), I peeled off his face off starting directly above the collar bone. When I saw what I had to work with, I realized that I wouldn't be able to do a decent job without removing his skull and working from there. When you start cutting through flesh and bones the prep room starts to smell like a slaughter house doused in formaldehyde. It's not unpleasant, but not something you want to bottle into perfume. I won't go into more details, but a reconstruction like this isn't cheap. If an old woman sustained head injuries that made an open casket funeral a near impossibility, her family would have accepted it.
I don't understand why people feel the need to prove their love after someone is dead. It can turn into pissing contests between family members. I appreciate it, seeing as how it pays my bills, but it doesn't make any sense.
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