It's been almost a year since my last blog; a very busy life precluded this activity. Turning 83 last December - when my husband was quite ill (fully recovered now, thank you!)I had a glimpse of what a caregiver's life is all about. Most of us don't like to talk about aging, illness/death - but all of us will be either caregivers or need caring at some point in our lives. Our kids were fabulous - living on both east and west coasts, they checked in every day and also visited. Forget the classic joke about two older women talking about their kids and asking the third woman what she does for aggravation sans kids....
So now it's business as usual - kvetching about the political scene - and feeling relatively helpless in effecting change. Hypocrisy accompanied by lying is the pattern for promoting pols and ideas; not sure which is worse.
The concept of choice apparently only works for some of us - you can choose to stay home and be a "full time mom" (Mrs. Romney) but you can't choose whether you should have another child (or any). Now that sounds fair......?
Invoking God for "choice" when it's "your" God? How about other people's God?
And I keep coming back to our convoluted ideas about health care - if there's talk about unnecessary procedures not covered by Medicare - the "rationing" howls begin. But the truth is that we prescribe too many screenings, procedures, prescriptions which in the end will do nothing or even harm the "patient". We still are living in an age where we're advised to contact our physician for every two bit ache or kvetch and if he/she doesn't order/prescribe - oops - must be a "bad" physician. (Of course they prescribe - afraid of litigation in case something goes wrong in the future!)
Most important - since I have some understanding about the 80+ population - the need for annual physcials for this segment is completely unnecessary (assuming there is no underlying chronic/acute disease process).
Is it any wonder that we spend so much more on health care than any other country - and our morbidity rates are so much higher? Food for thought!
