
Originally Posted by
OakLeaf
See though, I'm not talking about complainers or sedentary people. Mostly it's just the opposite - active people who put a brave, happy public face on everything, who've made the comment to me in a quiet, private moment. The quantity and technical expertise of their health care doesn't seem to make much difference in their quality of life, either, not when they have serious chronic degenerative conditions. There's the kind of health care I'm getting, that hopefully will keep some minor pinched nerves in a healthy active person from becoming serious or chronic ... and then there's the kind of health care my dad is getting, substituting one type of agony for another and stripping him of dignity and control.
At least the ones who are still working are the ones who still have something to live for...
Thank you, OakLeaf. I think being aware of this, and saying so, is really important. Much appreciated.
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks