Old age.

I have always had a soft spot for the elderly, particularly for those who have been abandoned in care homes because their families have emmigrated.  Money is sent for their care.  A faded photograph from happier days is a treasured thing, shown with pride.  I have seen frail geriatrics in the most appalling condition.  The spark gone from their rheumy eyes and yet a glimmer of hope when spoken to like the once proud adult they were.  I fail to understand the mindset that switches from 'my parent who brought me up' to 'an old person who has become a burden to me.'  Where is the compassion?  Why are the elderly not revered for their wisdom?  Why is it the norm to want to pass the buck onto care personnel who have no vested interest except a salary?  Why do people struggle to believe the elderly are sometimes abused both mentally and physically.  I think the reason old people often become so bitter and twisted is because they have lost their freedom, their voice, their dignity.  They are shouted at before anyone has ascertained whether or not they are deaf, they are spoken to like children even if of sane mind.  They are not stimulated by visitors, by being read to, helped with a puzzle or being taken out, but placed in front of a blaring television on a soapie channel with no remote.  No chance of choice.  Families get angry when an old person becomes resistant to change.  The thought of being put into a care home away from all that is known and comfortable is, frankly, terrifying for me and I am nowhere near being a geriatric.  I know that many go because they don't want to rock the boat and are desperately unhappy for the, usually foreshortened, remainder of their days.  Days that could have been spent with loving family around, beloved pets to cuddle and maybe a garden to tend.  Revered elderly people often live longer and healthier lives in their familiar surroundings. The elderly may develop mental issues and behave differently, but this can be managed if it is understood.  I feel that in some cases old people develop mental issues to escape the banal lives they are expected to lead.  Others fight the indignity of being handled like a petulant child and are then seen as difficult.  These are souls who fought in wars, danced with lovers, explored the world, wrote books, experienced life.  Their stories are their legacy, their experience, our lessons.  These words written by Dylan Thomas are apt "Do not go gentle into that dark night.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light. . . "