Last weekend while visiting an old friend who is rehabbing from an almost fatal stroke, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in a combination nursing home and assisted living home.
Although my friend is slowly improving, it was a very saddening experience.
Actually, it is every old person's horror.
There were only two men that I saw in the facility, my friend and a retired pastor in his 90s. The remainder were little old ladies in various stage of physical and mental health, none of which seemed capable of providing for themselves.
The eyes haunt me. My friend and several of the ladies still had bright eyes...indicating to me, at least, that they still had mental acuity. This was generally proved by conversation.
Other eyes were dull, not bright, and those were the ones that may well have been the best off.
Now my friend appears to be on the way to recovery and escape from the home.
For the others with "bright eyes" there will likely be no escape other than eventual death.
Those with the "dull" eyes? Well, they probably don't appreciate what is going on that much. Their minds have likely already escaped, and their bodies will follow at a later date.
Back in the old days, when we had strong families throughout American society, a place like that would be unheard of. If one's mom or dad, or grandparents got in that shape, they would be taken into a family member's home until they passed on.
Now, however, they are placed in homes like these. And left alone.
Sad.
They way we treat our elderly is certainly a comment on our society the same way as the way we treat our youth is.
No comments:
Post a Comment