Three Score Years and Ten
At 70 our time’s up, or so the Bible says, and as Angelica approaches that age she is feeling very vulnerable.
“There’s no medical cure for getting older,” says Angelica, “and by the age of 70 most of us will be naturally worn out, with some of us being kept alive by a cornucopia of pills with various horrible side-effects. It’s not much of a life.”
“Extra years are not always a bonus,” says Angelica. “It really doesn’t matter what disease takes us, because we all essentially die of old age.”
“Knowing and accepting that we have so little time left before we, too, wear out, I’m becoming increasingly dismayed at the incredible amount of time, effort and money being expended on extending the lives of old people, most of whom do not benefit for long, if at all, from the painful invasive surgeries and treatments that are foisted on them.”
“In many respects, the medical and pharmaceutical industries seem to be using the very old as lab rats,” says Angelica. “I think it would be so much kinder to give palliative care and allow them to die naturally – freeing up that time, effort and money on more deserving causes.”
“Those of us who can afford private health insurance and have been paying it for years, naively believing that it will cover all contingencies, often find themselves in big trouble when a crisis hits them in old age,” explains Angelica.
“Most health insurances do not cover the type of care you need after experiencing an illness or accident.”
“Your hospital and medical expenses are taken care of, sure, but what about the extra services you now need at home?”
“Check your policy, it may cover unlimited home nursing and physiotherapy and may even pay to retrofit your house,” says Angelica, “but what about the expense of employing someone to do your grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing and general house maintenance?”
“Family and friends can only help you temporarily, and when you’re left on your own to cope you quickly become overwhelmed by the simple business of taking care of yourself,” says Angelica. “Being old - and 67 is old - makes independent living a misery.”
“Because most people reach their 60s having survived several illnesses and accidents, it’s easy to assume that you will carry on surviving whatever illnesses and accidents life throws at you,” says Angelia, “but, unfortunately, your body is not as resilient as you get older and what may have caused you a minor setback at 40 or 50 is now likely to bring you down big time.”
“I’ve found, too, that seniors who take care of themselves, exercise regularly and don’t drink, smoke or eat junk food, are the very people who are devastated the most when an illness or accident knocks them down,” says Angelica. “Those of us who have reached our 60s having experienced many knocks tend to be more philosophical about the folly of thinking that exercise and clean living protect us from the natural ravages of old age.”
“Decay and death happen to us all; no matter how well we take care of ourselves.”
“That 80+ seniors are now the fastest growing age cohort in our population - thanks to the miracles of modern medicine – does not please me,” says Angelica. “There is nothing good about living more than your allotted three score years and ten if that means being dependent on others for your daily needs and ‘existing’ as a virtual vegetable rather than living like a human being.”
“It’s not just the physical care of the elderly that’s taking a toll on families and society, but the financial costs involved, too.”
“When the personal retirement savings pot of the elderly is depleted, the costs of care fall onto their children who are often in need of care themselves if they are 60+, and their own retirement savings end up being sacrificed.”
“While it may be true that the very rich and the very poor fare better in the age care stakes than the rest of us – in that money or charity looks after you,” says Angelica, “the fact is that being slowly impoverished, unable to buy those little extras in old age, is not really an ideal state to end up in after 60+ years of working and saving.”
“I remember being similarly scared as the age of 30 approached,” says Angelica, “but saying goodbye to youth is not the same as saying goodbye to life, is it?”
Read more of Angelica's story:
The Boomer Time Bomb Arrives
“There’s no medical cure for getting older,” says Angelica, “and by the age of 70 most of us will be naturally worn out, with some of us being kept alive by a cornucopia of pills with various horrible side-effects. It’s not much of a life.”
“Extra years are not always a bonus,” says Angelica. “It really doesn’t matter what disease takes us, because we all essentially die of old age.”
“Knowing and accepting that we have so little time left before we, too, wear out, I’m becoming increasingly dismayed at the incredible amount of time, effort and money being expended on extending the lives of old people, most of whom do not benefit for long, if at all, from the painful invasive surgeries and treatments that are foisted on them.”
“In many respects, the medical and pharmaceutical industries seem to be using the very old as lab rats,” says Angelica. “I think it would be so much kinder to give palliative care and allow them to die naturally – freeing up that time, effort and money on more deserving causes.”
“Those of us who can afford private health insurance and have been paying it for years, naively believing that it will cover all contingencies, often find themselves in big trouble when a crisis hits them in old age,” explains Angelica.
“Most health insurances do not cover the type of care you need after experiencing an illness or accident.”
“Your hospital and medical expenses are taken care of, sure, but what about the extra services you now need at home?”
“Check your policy, it may cover unlimited home nursing and physiotherapy and may even pay to retrofit your house,” says Angelica, “but what about the expense of employing someone to do your grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing and general house maintenance?”
“Family and friends can only help you temporarily, and when you’re left on your own to cope you quickly become overwhelmed by the simple business of taking care of yourself,” says Angelica. “Being old - and 67 is old - makes independent living a misery.”
“Because most people reach their 60s having survived several illnesses and accidents, it’s easy to assume that you will carry on surviving whatever illnesses and accidents life throws at you,” says Angelia, “but, unfortunately, your body is not as resilient as you get older and what may have caused you a minor setback at 40 or 50 is now likely to bring you down big time.”
“I’ve found, too, that seniors who take care of themselves, exercise regularly and don’t drink, smoke or eat junk food, are the very people who are devastated the most when an illness or accident knocks them down,” says Angelica. “Those of us who have reached our 60s having experienced many knocks tend to be more philosophical about the folly of thinking that exercise and clean living protect us from the natural ravages of old age.”
“Decay and death happen to us all; no matter how well we take care of ourselves.”
“That 80+ seniors are now the fastest growing age cohort in our population - thanks to the miracles of modern medicine – does not please me,” says Angelica. “There is nothing good about living more than your allotted three score years and ten if that means being dependent on others for your daily needs and ‘existing’ as a virtual vegetable rather than living like a human being.”
“It’s not just the physical care of the elderly that’s taking a toll on families and society, but the financial costs involved, too.”
“When the personal retirement savings pot of the elderly is depleted, the costs of care fall onto their children who are often in need of care themselves if they are 60+, and their own retirement savings end up being sacrificed.”
“While it may be true that the very rich and the very poor fare better in the age care stakes than the rest of us – in that money or charity looks after you,” says Angelica, “the fact is that being slowly impoverished, unable to buy those little extras in old age, is not really an ideal state to end up in after 60+ years of working and saving.”
“I remember being similarly scared as the age of 30 approached,” says Angelica, “but saying goodbye to youth is not the same as saying goodbye to life, is it?”
Read more of Angelica's story:
Labels: aged care, aged care facilities, aging, approaching 70, dying with dignity, growing old, palliative care
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