There's a commercial on television about how people with dementia in nursing homes still have so much to live for, etc. BOLLOCKS. For those of us who have routinely visited a nursing home, we know that it is sad and depressing and it is the last place you want to visit. You might love that person and want to visit them - but no doubt you'd rather go to 1994 to do it.
The person you know, who now is unable to care for herself, unable to live in her own home, unable to think like she used to, is not happy to be alive in this way. I see a room full of people sitting around, playing lame games and activities, waiting for someone to visit them, and of course, waiting to die. Then, if someone actually does show up to visit, the loved one complains about how horrible it is to be there, or asks when they are going 'home', or just talks about the same few things they always talk about, like the weather.
You start thinking, Would I rather see my loved one dead or living like this? Not as easy a question as you might think.
I'm glad we have nursing homes to care for those of us who are no longer able to live alone. Only rich people can bring in a full-time caretaker in their home. Not every daughter or son has what it takes to help a parent on the toilet or in the shower. And this can happen to anyone from a 50-year-old who has a devastating stroke to a 95-year-old grandfather.
What's my point? I have no point! This is merely venting about something that's horrible and that no one can make pretty no matter what.
#NursingHome #GettingOld #caretaker