Being Mortal

Is living long enough the single most important element for the human beings if other things that we value like freedom, privacy, our own priority have to be forgone? An absolute no is expected. However, this is how the elderly is being treated. They are treated with medical technique rather than human need.

Some are in nursing home as advised by doctors for safety concern, in which they have to share a room with a roommate, go to bed, wake up and take showers as scheduled. Staffs there don’t care about their personal style as they regard that unnecessary.

Some had to go through tremendous sufferings and pain associated with medication or surgery at the end of their life even though they preferred dying peacefully

Some expected that the treatment or surgery may largely improve their lives but they didn’t know the high risk associated.

Doctors nowadays still play the role of informing patients of different available treatments given their symptoms and let the patient to make the choice. However, there is always a different expectation of the outcome patients and doctors have. Patients, being desperate to get improved, may assume that life will get better and underestimate risk and suffering involved and therefore, the author suggested that doctors should know about their life priorities and help make advice based on what means the most to the patients. But that might not be realistic. Doctors nowadays have to take care of an increasing number of patients, leaving them limited time for each of them. Alas, doctors may be personally liable for the advised decision if things don’t go well.

An alternative suggested by the author seems to be more feasible - hard conversations among the elderly and their children. Knowing about what means the most to their parents and what are they willing to endure to get that goal, children are able to make the decision for their parents rationally. Like some value communication with people while some would like to have food they like. Some are willing to take the risk for people they love while some are not willing to live without dignity. Different people of course have different priorities and that is crucial in determining the treatment.

Beside the treatments, for those living in nursing home, people put safety and longer life over everything. The elderly are not allowed to take more risk than kids. Many are not allowed to have their room decorated as wished and not many personal belongings are allowed. They are forced to join activities that they might not even be interested in. Food they like is no longer allowed becuase of the strict diet. They are deprived of their meaning. They get depressed. Is it what we want when our life nearly come to an end?

Life is more than merely existence.