Beginning and Ending

[Guest guest]

Robert here... from a personal friend whose wife is dying from the

complications of Emphysema.

 

BEGINNING AND ENDING

 

(The following was extrapolated from The Religion Division Quarterly, a

Newsletter of the American Association of Mental Retardation. I'm sorry I

cannot give credit to its author.)

 

A physician was lecturing to a class of medical students. The topic was "The

Psychological Aspects of Aging." He began with the following case

presentation:

The patient is a female who appears her reported age. She neither speaks nor

comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on

end. She is disoriented about person, place and time. She does, however,

seem to recognize her own name. I have worked with her for the past six

months, but she still does not recognize me.

She shows complete disregard for physical appearance and makes no effort

whatsoever to assist in her own care. She must be fed, bathed and clothed by

others. Because she is toothless, her food must be pureed, and because she

is incontinent of both urine and feces, she must be changed and bathed

often. Her shirt is generally soiled from almost incessant drooling. She

does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she awakes in the middle

of the night and her screaming awakens others.

Most of the time she is friendly and happy, however, several times a day she

gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she screams loudly until

someone comes to comfort her.

At this point the doctor asked the students how they would feel about taking

care of a patient such as the one described. The words used to describe how

they felt were, "frustrated,hopeless,annoyed,depressed," and

"let

the nurses deal with her."

The physician then stated that he enjoyed taking care of her and thought

that they would too. The students looked at him in disbelief. Then he put a

picture of the patient on the overhead... It was his 6 month old daughter.

After the laughter subsided, he asked why it was so much more difficult to

care for a 90 year old than a 6 month old with identical symptoms. The

infant, he said, represents new life, hope and infinite potential. The

demented senior citizen represents the end of life with little potential for

growth. Then he said, "We need to change our perspective. The aged patient

is just as lovable as the child. Those who are ending their lives in the

helplessness of old age deserve the same care and attention as those who are

beginning their lives in the helplessness of infancy."

****************************************

Comment: As the sacred journey of life nears its end, we must try to retain

a certain tenderness and understanding. It's going to end for each of us

someday. The natural sequence of life is death. Death in its natural

sequence is a healing. It lets one out of a body that has become weak, tired

and depressed. It lets the soul get on with its being.

 

Don Parkison, MD

[Guest guest]

Amen, Robert, Amen. Thank you for posting this, and please convey my

sympathy to your friend.

 

Love, Mark

 

Skyeryder wrote:

> Robert here... from a personal friend whose wife is dying from the

> complications of Emphysema.

>

> BEGINNING AND ENDING

>

> (The following was extrapolated from The Religion Division Quarterly,

> a

> Newsletter of the American Association of Mental Retardation. I'm

> sorry I

> cannot give credit to its author.)

>

> A physician was lecturing to a class of medical students. The topic

> was "The

> Psychological Aspects of Aging." He began with the following case

> presentation:

> The patient is a female who appears her reported age. She neither

> speaks nor

> comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for

> hours on

> end. She is disoriented about person, place and time. She does,

> however,

> seem to recognize her own name. I have worked with her for the past

> six

> months, but she still does not recognize me.

> She shows complete disregard for physical appearance and makes no

> effort

> whatsoever to assist in her own care. She must be fed, bathed and

> clothed by

> others. Because she is toothless, her food must be pureed, and because

> she

> is incontinent of both urine and feces, she must be changed and bathed

>

> often. Her shirt is generally soiled from almost incessant drooling.

> She

> does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she awakes in the

> middle

> of the night and her screaming awakens others.

> Most of the time she is friendly and happy, however, several times a

> day she

> gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she screams loudly

> until

> someone comes to comfort her.

> At this point the doctor asked the students how they would feel about

> taking

> care of a patient such as the one described. The words used to

> describe how

> they felt were, "frustrated,hopeless,annoyed,depressed,"

and

> "let

> the nurses deal with her."

> The physician then stated that he enjoyed taking care of her and

> thought

> that they would too. The students looked at him in disbelief. Then he

> put a

> picture of the patient on the overhead... It was his 6 month old

> daughter.

> After the laughter subsided, he asked why it was so much more

> difficult to

> care for a 90 year old than a 6 month old with identical symptoms. The

>

> infant, he said, represents new life, hope and infinite potential. The

>

> demented senior citizen represents the end of life with little

> potential for

> growth. Then he said, "We need to change our perspective. The aged

> patient

> is just as lovable as the child. Those who are ending their lives in

> the

> helplessness of old age deserve the same care and attention as those

> who are

> beginning their lives in the helplessness of infancy."

> ****************************************

> Comment: As the sacred journey of life nears its end, we must try to

> retain

> a certain tenderness and understanding. It's going to end for each of

> us

> someday. The natural sequence of life is death. Death in its natural

> sequence is a healing. It lets one out of a body that has become weak,

> tired

> and depressed. It lets the soul get on with its being.

>

> Don Parkison, MD

>