In Defense of the Frail Elderly
Even the most modest towns across our nation have nursing facilities, home health agencies, and community resources available to help maintain the dignity, function, and quality of life of the frail older adult. There are organizations and niche providers such as Hospice and Meals on Wheels who work in the trenches daily with the elderly and their families to make the best of an oftentimes hopeless situation. We as a nation should be thankful to this arm of the healthcare industry, and shudder when we reflect that, if Obamacare reforms are successful, it could sound the death knell for these types of services which the frail elderly population depends upon and deserves.
A physician at our local Tea Party stated one platform of healthcare reform is to withhold vital treatment in the last 6 months of the patient's life.Do we really want our government deciding when our last 6 months have arrived?
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A friend of mine posted a comment on her Facebook page about socialized medicine recently which sparked quite a debate. Most commenters were very much against Obama's plan but one commenter was quite for it. This idiot went on to say "BUT everyone should must have the same opportunities to Health care. And that includes limiting treatment to the "hope less cases" empty the nursing homes!!!"
Wow. Nice guy. Now this guy is 49 yrs old & not in prime condition by the looks of his profile pic so, I guess he is either planning on taking advantage of Obama's plan to make euthanasia available so that he can all spare us the cost. (I won't even go into his issue with grammar & writing...I guess, using my logic, since he isn't a teenager, he must have been drunk when writing this comment.)
Most people assume they will either drift off in their sleep or have a massive heart attack & that will be that. But with the technology we have today, that is not often the case. The problem is we survive. We go on. We don't die. We continue for months sometimes years. Now, this sounds great, but is it? Working in health care, I would say most of the people who come in that need immediate intervention to continue to live get it & survive. However, many of these lives are changed forever. They may be as bad off as to remain in a coma for years & years to come or may just need the assistance of a walker for the rest of their lives. But, do we really want the government to say when our time is up? If this particular man has a stroke but survives leaving him unable to care for himself completely but still coherent & able to carry on a conversation with someone, do you think he will still be in support of "emptying the nursing homes?"
Obviously this buffoon has never had anyone close to him suffer. While not everyone on the left may feel like he does, I have a feeling more than we think do.
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