“What do you do with your mom when she can’t do anything – anything at all- for herself?” (Wolff 219). The question I’m sure we all fear, but we all must answer. In Michael Wolff’s “A life Worth Ending” he brilliantly writes about prolonging the life of his dying mother, and the issues that come as a consequence. He writes, “By promoting longevity and technologically inhibiting death, we have created a new biological status held by an ever-growing part of the nation, a no-exit state that persists longer and longer, one that is nearly as remote for life as death, but which, unlike death requires vast service, indentured servitude really, and resources.” (Wolff 207). As a human I know we all must die one day, so what is the real purpose in trying …show more content…
This “no-exit system” as he calls it requires a lot of extra service. These services are very tedious and stressful. Wolff, starts out by telling the reader about his trip to an insurance company and how the meeting gave him an epiphany about prolonging life. His visit to the insurance company was a pit stop. He was actually on his way to see his dying mother in the hospital. The insurance company specialized in long-term care polices, and the cost were extremely expensive. “For $5,000 a year I’d receive, when I need it, a daily sum to cover my future nursing cost.” (Wolff 205). In this part of the book he is trying to make it all make sense in his head. He is painting the issue for the …show more content…
Think about it like this, if you were put in a place where care was low and based on the number of people are admitted wouldn’t you get stressed out. Now think about what stress does to the body. Terrible things right? Imagine stress on top of decaying of the mind and limbs from old age. This is a sure recipe for insuring that we stay in the hospital and on the operating table.
Illness and pain are by fare two of the worst things we could ever see happen to a loved one. Moreover, know that illness and pain is irreversible and sometimes fatal. Most illness in our older loved ones are caused by the fact that their body is aging. “Older adults experience more chronic illnesses than any other age group (Merck Research Laboratories, 1997).” (Brown 93). “The elderly, especially those over 80 years of age are the fastest growing population in the US, and the elderly report more pain than younger persons.” (Karen Bellenir 57). Michael Wolff discusses his mother’s illnesses and how it is effecting her everyday life. He goes a step further and paints a picture of how it makes him feel, in turn Wolff is able to capture the reader and draw them close to his opinion. “She strains for cognition and shockingly, sometimes bursts forward, reaching it – “Nice suit,” she said to me, out of the blue, a few months ago- before falling back. That is the thing that
The scenario took place in a general medical ward where William, a 75 year old man, was staying in a bay with 3 other male patients. William had recently been suspected with early signs of dementia and had been in chronic pain for years due to osteoarthritis that affected his lumbar spine and knees. Arthritis is ...
On the topic of Atul Gawande’s novel Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, an ongoing issue has brought into question what we should do with the elderly and ill that are in need of care. On the one hand, some argue that they should be put in nursing homes and seek treatment for their problems because they can no longer take care of themselves. From this perspective, the elderly have a greater chance of getting injured if they are not taken care of properly, thus are seen as unfit to live on their own. On the other hand, however, others argue that the elderly should be allowed to live on their own as long as they maintain a healthy lifestyle. Atul Gawande, one of this view’s main proponents, urges us to realize that no one is immortal
When making decisions regarding treatment of another person, it is important to respect the expressed wishes of the individual. John says that his mother would want to live as long as she could, but questions arise related to her quality of life and perception of prolonged suffering by prolonging the dying process. The book states that quality of life changes throughout one’s life and experiences.
A Life Worth Living in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut (1922- ) is an author with a unique perspective on life. He sees in a vivid technicolor things in this world that the rest of humanity may only see in black and white. By the same token he sees life as a rather dark subject, it's the ultimate joke at our expense (Lundquist 1). His life experience has been one of hardship. His mother committed suicide in 1942.
In Amy Hempels’ Short Story “Going,” our journey with the narrator travels through loss, coping, memory, experience, and the duality of life. Throughout the story is the narrator’s struggle to cope with the passing of his mother, and how he transitions from a mixture of depression, denial, and anger, into a kind of acceptance and revelation. The narrator has lost his mother in a fire three states away, and proceeds on a reckless journey through the desert, when he crashes his car and finds himself hospitalized. Only his thoughts and the occasional nurse to keep him company. The narrator soon gains a level of discovery and realizations that lead to a higher understanding of the duality of life and death, and all of the experiences that come with being alive.
The story Miss Julianne is an excellent example of patients suffering from dementia. Although one of my family members, my Nana was also a dementia patient, but after reading this textI can relate more to his situation. Miss Julianne is also a dementia patient as she keep-forgetting things and blames others, her aggressive behavior. This story relates to my personal experience, the challenges and the change in my views and opinions and resulted in my emotional response to it.
Lisa Genova’s grandmother, who was 85 years old, had been showing signs of dementia for years; but she was a smart and independent woman who never complained, and she navigated around her symptoms. Her nine children and their spouses, as well as her grandchildren, passed off her mistakes to normal aging. Then they got the phone call when Lisa’s grandmot...
As he was a professor of Sociology for many years, Morrie begins again to educate Mitch Album, in, what he calls, his “final thesis.” The old professor and the youthful student meet every Tuesday. As the disease progresses, Morrie shares his opinions on issues such as family, love, emotions, and aging. Although the cover of the book states “an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson,” the book actually provides numerous life lessons. Morrie Schwartz - Morrie is Mitch's favorite professor from Brandeis University, and the main focus of the book is Morrie, who now suffers from ALS, a weakening, incurable disease that destroys his body, but cruelly leaves him as intelligent as ever before.
In “A Life Worth ending” by Michael Wolff he touches on the issues with health care, the cost of living and insurance policies that are involved in caring for a parent with dementia or
vital functions: the end of life. When people are faced with the reality of their ultimate demise, they
My grandmother has a certain look in her eyes when something is troubling her: she stares off in a random direction with a wistful, slightly bemused expression on her face, as if she sees something the rest of us can’t see, knows something that we don’t know. It is in these moments, and these moments alone, that she seems distant from us, like a quiet observer watching from afar, her body present but her mind and heart in a place only she can visit. She never says it, but I know, and deep inside, I think they do as well. She wants to be a part of our world. She wants us to be a part of hers. But we don’t belong. Not anymore. Not my brothers—I don’t think they ever did. Maybe I did—once, a long time ago, but I can’t remember anymore. I love my grandmother. She knows that. I know she does, even if I’m never able to convey it adequately to her in words.
Death is inevitable; if you want happiness in life, try A. Margaret Atwood, the author of “Happy Endings,” uses six separate short stories to depict outcomes with different scenarios. The author practices the use of flash fiction which adds to the entirety of each version. Though this short story has portions of unusual context, the content can teach a reflection on life. As the reader analyzes all six versions, the gender roles are evident as the story progresses. Atwood starts the short story by introducing the two main characters, John and Mary, and then proceeds to tell a variety of options as to who they are and what happens to them. In Margaret Atwood’s short story, “Happy Endings,” the central theme of fiction provides several different
By the time Julie returned her grandmother was ever so lightly snoring. The look of gratification and appreciation of Julie’s previously stern face melted my heart and again my eyes welled with tears. The fence Julie had built around her heart slowly disintegrated as she observed the bond I had developed with her “mom”. With a quivering voice, Julie revealed the stress and emotional turmoil of watching this devastating disease imprison the only mother she had ever known.
“Difficult, depressing, and tragic” are a few of the descriptions generally associated with illness. Those who suffer from dementia, especially, undergo a realm of these characterizations. With this adversity in mind, most people generate a basic understanding based on education rather than personal experience. It is this preconception that can prevent us from gaining a true insight of one’s reality.
Hospital bills are very expensive and for the people that don’t have insurance will be stuck with a huge bill that they more than likely can’t pay and will be put out the hospital as soon as the doctors see fit. They won’t just be able to lay around in a hospital room.