Robert here... from a personal friend whose wife is dying from the
complications of Emphysema.

BEGINNING AND ENDING

(The following was extrapolated from The Religion Division Quarterly, a
Newsletter of the American Association of Mental Retardation. I'm sorry I
cannot give credit to its author.)

A physician was lecturing to a class of medical students. The topic was "The
Psychological Aspects of Aging." He began with the following case
presentation:
The patient is a female who appears her reported age. She neither speaks nor
comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on
end. She is disoriented about person, place and time. She does, however,
seem to recognize her own name. I have worked with her for the past six
months, but she still does not recognize me.
She shows complete disregard for physical appearance and makes no effort
whatsoever to assist in her own care. She must be fed, bathed and clothed by
others. Because she is toothless, her food must be pureed, and because she
is incontinent of both urine and feces, she must be changed and bathed
often. Her shirt is generally soiled from almost incessant drooling. She
does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she awakes in the middle
of the night and her screaming awakens others.
Most of the time she is friendly and happy, however, several times a day she
gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she screams loudly until
someone comes to comfort her.
At this point the doctor asked the students how they would feel about taking
care of a patient such as the one described. The words used to describe how
they felt were, "frustrated," "hopeless," "annoyed," "depressed," and
"let
the nurses deal with her."
The physician then stated that he enjoyed taking care of her and thought
that they would too. The students looked at him in disbelief. Then he put a
picture of the patient on the overhead... It was his 6 month old daughter.
After the laughter subsided, he asked why it was so much more difficult to
care for a 90 year old than a 6 month old with identical symptoms. The
infant, he said, represents new life, hope and infinite potential. The
demented senior citizen represents the end of life with little potential for
growth. Then he said, "We need to change our perspective. The aged patient
is just as lovable as the child. Those who are ending their lives in the
helplessness of old age deserve the same care and attention as those who are
beginning their lives in the helplessness of infancy."
****************************************
Comment: As the sacred journey of life nears its end, we must try to retain
a certain tenderness and understanding. It's going to end for each of us
someday. The natural sequence of life is death. Death in its natural
sequence is a healing. It lets one out of a body that has become weak, tired
and depressed. It lets the soul get on with its being.

Don Parkison, MD