The idea of living a long life is one that many hope for. At first glance, it may seem as though a long life is ideal, but it is important to take a closer look into what exactly living longer means. In Ezekiel J. Emanuel’s essay, Why I Hope to Die at 75, he asserts that living too long is a loss because the quality of life decreases as the years go on. Emanuel firmly believes in striving for quality rather than quantity of life. Living past the age of 75 leaves the elderly lonely, diseased with mental disorders, and living life painfully ill.
Imagine, sitting contently in your living room, when your phone rings. Slowly, you pick up the phone to hear the voice of an old acquaintance. Yet another friend of yours is dead, they say. This means
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Dementia is of the most terrible and heartbreaking diseases, with 47.5 million people worldwide suffering from this disease (3) that not only affects the one person, but those who surround them too. My grandfather, a kind and hilarious man who never passed up the opportunity to tell a joke, sadly experienced the awfulness that is dementia firsthand. He was never fully aware of what time in his life it was, thinking that he was 40 years old and still working. My grandmother was greatly affected as well as he would often yell at her out of frustration and confusion, and some days he wouldn’t even know who she was despite being married over 50 years. My grandfather was 82 at the time, suffering from the horrible disease that is multiple sclerosis since he was 50 and being in and out of hospitals for various illnesses. This is not the ideal way to spend your days, being in constant pain and incapable of living life to the fullest. This is not the way to be remembered by those who love you, being angry and frustrated with what life has given you. This is not the way anyone should ever have to
Common sense seems to dictate that we are all going to die one day. As we all get older we crave to keep our youth, and to stay young forever is the ultimate dream. The thought of a possible immortality is just an added benefit. Even though we have strived towards this goal for centuries, have we obtained advances in successfully staying young forever? In Bill Gifford’s book “Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying)” he explores these ideas of life and aging further. In this novel, he goes on a journey to try and debunk the mysteries and questions behind the new science of aging. He gathers information from tests and scientists from around the country to discover what really works to prevent or delay aging and what is just a hopeful hoax. He helps us figure out why we age and why aging
The concept of successful aging is also termed as super aging or optimal health, coined by Rowe & Kahn in 1987. Fundamentally, successful aging in the elderly illustrates neither usual aging (a gradual decrease in biological and psychological functioning) nor pathological aging. Instead, it illustrates a form of aging connected to a reduced possibility of disability or disease, increased physical and cognitive functioning, including autonomy maintained. Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence; most people over the age of 65 are not senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994).
Indeed, no person can live forever because our bodies are mortal. Therefore, everyone should seize the chance given in the few years on earth to accomplish his or her desires. Historically, no human has lived past 130 years, except the narrations in the Bible or other religious books. Accordingly, this demonstrates the limited life that humans have, which is prone to a premature end due to diseases, accidents, and calamities. For this reason, the uncertainty of the human life makes it necessary for the people to live each day as their last on earth so that they can strive to perfect the desires, duties, and responsibilities bestowed on them. Furthermore, the completion of the tasks should not be a routine but rather a passion for creating a better environment for the success of
In the United States and worldwide people have different culture, beliefs and attitude about death. Over the past years, death is an emotional and controversy topic that is not easy to talk about. Everyone have a different definition of what is death and when do you know that a person is really dead. In the book Death, Society, and Human Experiences by Robert J. Kastenbaum demonstrates that you are alive, even when doctors pronounce you dead.
During the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian Era, life expectancy was so low due to the lack of sanitation, working conditions, and less medical knowledge that we have now. At the time, the average age people were dying was at 35 years old (Lambert). The age, however, varied depending on where one lived. Normally, people who lived in cities died at a younger age than people who live in rural areas. The class that one was in also greatly impacted a person’s life span. It mainly impacted poor working-class communities, because of the poor conditions that came with being a member of that class (Wilde).
The “Why I Hope to Die at 75” Reflection “Why I Hope to Die at 75” by Ezekiel Emanuel was a very informative and insightful article that I found very interesting. My thoughts on it were that I did not agree with anything he said; however, I believe he is very intelligent and thought this out. With him being very active and healthy throughout his life, I can see why he thinks this though. He has seen, and done, things that people can only dream about doing. I Agree with Emanuel that aging can be an ugly process and can hurt the one going through aging as well the family with it.
Dementia is a long-term condition that normally affects people aged 65 and over, younger people can be affected. Having dementia can cause loss of key functions to the brain, such as; loss of memory; confusion; speech and language problems; loss of ability to make judgements; loss of concentration; difficulty in processing information; changes in behaviour and personality. These all lead to a person not been able to function properly. The person’s ability to function deteriorates over a period of time and is usually at least 6 months before positive diagnosis of dementia can be made. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases such as Alzheimer’s which is the most common of dementia, vascular which is a series of mini strokes,
Alzheimer’s is a disease that many people have heard of, but few really know much about. Imagine not being able to remember your loved ones and friends or even how to do simple tasks like dressing yourself and brushing your hair. Now imagine having to dress your mother, who rarely remembers you anymore. This is the reality of life for millions of older people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and the families that care for them. Alzheimer’s causes cognitive function to decrease gradually overtime. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia - affecting around 5 million Americans (alz.org). It is the most fatal disease affecting older people and needs to be taken seriously.
Dementia is a disease effecting nearly thirty-six million people worldwide (Whiteman, 2014). Even with so many elderly suffering from the disease, there are many people who don’t know what dementia truly is. People often jump too quickly to the conclusion that dementia is a disease that only effects the memory. They may believe that dementia is inevitable and cannot be cured in any case. They may also believe that dementia is something the majority of elderly will experience when they get older.
It is inevitable that eventually each of us will grow old and begin to face more and more health problems as our age rises. Elderly people are challenged by many illnesses and diseases that unfortunately, are incurable. One disease that becomes more common as people age is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s a common cause and a form of dementia and can severely damage a patient’s cognitive functions and can ultimately cause death. Living with Alzheimer’s disease can be saddening for both the sufferer and the family. Family and friends will find it very hard to cope when a loved one begins slipping away and losing memory of who they are.
I have been able to observe the consequences and problems having Alzheimer’s disease may cause for a family through my grandfather. My grandfather did not seem to be sick, but it was slowly evident that he was forgetting some aspects of his life. When my mother and I visited him, he would occasionally forget who we were. It was truly heart-breaking to watch someone you knew your entire life somehow become a new person. Unfortunately, he passed away from complications a few years after his diagnosis. The moral is Alzheimer’s changes how you think, feel, and act, but it is not a complete game changer. People should seek aid from professionals and create an adjusted environment for themselves. People should surround themselves with support and love. After all, Alzheimer’s affects the brain, not the heart.
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
As I sit here writing this research paper on the fourth anniversary of my grandfather’s death to Alzheimer’s, I cannot help but to feel especially connected not only to the physical destructiveness of the disease, but also to the emotional tolls associated with having it affect a family member. When I was in my freshman year of high school, my grandpa (mother’s father) began his steady decline from his diagnosis of this ailment. A man who I knew my whole life to be strong and independent started to become physically fragile and even more mentally so; after some time, he began to show signs of drastic memory loss, constant confusion and a hazardous inability to perform tasks once done with minimal effort. The onset of these debilitations had an immeasurable impact on my family. My grandmother (his wife) possessed the largest burden of the constant care for my grandfather as he slid into a state of powerlessness and incapability for basic self-maintenance. However, since my grandma never learned how to drive, taking full care of my grandpa become a near impossible task. After nearly a year and a half of my family witnessing my grandfather losing himself to Alzheimer’s, my family decided to place him in a hospice care facility that could provide him with the proper care before his inevitable passing to the disease a few months later.
In short, he says “By the time I reach 75, I will have lived a complete life” (Emanuel ❡4). Surprisingly, this man wants his memorial service to occur when he is still up and moving. He does not want his grandchildren to remember him as the worn down and boring grandfather that lived off of everyone else. He wanted to be the vibrant, exciting one that his grandchildren would enjoy being around. He wouldn’t be able to be the latter if he were above seventy-five because senior men and
“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.