Amazon warrior
New member
One thing hit me on reading that headline. \"Don\'t treat the old and unhealthy\"
Fair enough, sting those who willfully mistreat their bodies. But the elderly? *Everybody* gets old, and frankly, they might not think this now, but when you dribble and need someone to get you in and out of bed and wipe your ar*e, investing in care for the elderly suddenly becomes a real priority.
My mum is a nurse, and was the matron of a nursing and residential home before she retired. I helped out enough there to know how tough the job is and just how tight a budget they have to work with. And this was a well-run home. You hear some absolute horror stories, not just from care homes, but also from hospital wards dealing with the elderly. And with people living longer and longer (as others have already pointed out), this problem is going to get bigger, not smaller. Invest in care for the elderly, dammit! In 30-40 years time, you\'ll be really grateful you did.
On the subject of care for the downright unhealthy, well, I guess I\'ve seen that coin too. My dad was a chronic smoker and alcoholic, with all the issues that those addictions bring. He died almost three years ago after a failed lung transplant. Under this regime, would he have merited that operation? His state of health was such that he might not have lived many more years anyway. In a dark, unpleasant corner of my heart, I know what he was like and I\'m not sure he would have stopped smoking even if the operation had been a success, but at the same time that sort of means that I\'m not sure if he merited the operation. And that\'s a horrible thought to have about your parent.
Fair enough, sting those who willfully mistreat their bodies. But the elderly? *Everybody* gets old, and frankly, they might not think this now, but when you dribble and need someone to get you in and out of bed and wipe your ar*e, investing in care for the elderly suddenly becomes a real priority.
My mum is a nurse, and was the matron of a nursing and residential home before she retired. I helped out enough there to know how tough the job is and just how tight a budget they have to work with. And this was a well-run home. You hear some absolute horror stories, not just from care homes, but also from hospital wards dealing with the elderly. And with people living longer and longer (as others have already pointed out), this problem is going to get bigger, not smaller. Invest in care for the elderly, dammit! In 30-40 years time, you\'ll be really grateful you did.
On the subject of care for the downright unhealthy, well, I guess I\'ve seen that coin too. My dad was a chronic smoker and alcoholic, with all the issues that those addictions bring. He died almost three years ago after a failed lung transplant. Under this regime, would he have merited that operation? His state of health was such that he might not have lived many more years anyway. In a dark, unpleasant corner of my heart, I know what he was like and I\'m not sure he would have stopped smoking even if the operation had been a success, but at the same time that sort of means that I\'m not sure if he merited the operation. And that\'s a horrible thought to have about your parent.
