One of the “mentioned in passing” items we read and hear in the reporting on the Chinavirus is the deaths took place in “nursing homes”. At first I assumed that people knew what nursing homes were and then I realized that most people don’t get out much. “Nursing homes” is a term that is often used as one-size-fits-all but is anything but. Over the years I have visited people in all kinds of nursing homes. There are a number of factors that determine what they are like. For the facility itself the key item is money. Places that charge more tend to be much more pleasant. The unmeasurable is attitude. I would much rather stay in a home run by Mennonites than one ran by day traders. As with much in life, you can’t judge a home by its publicity.
There are many factors that determine where we might end up if forced out of our homes. Let me suggest a few: Physical limitations, mental acuity, personality, family, finances and a combination of choices and planning ahead. Some of these factors you have little control over. Although you can do everything possible to stay in good health, if you get run down by a car or tripped by a grandchild you might not be able to remain on your own. If you are hit with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia then you need to be surrounded by locked doors. Some of the factors are totally up to you.
Long term investment in life can make a difference. If you have a rotten personality and don’t care much about it you stand a good chance of being dumped in a dump. If you left your kids in day care while you went to the gym and never made it to the kid’s baseball game then there is a good chance that you will have few family visits. If you lived high and made no plans for retirement then you will take what the state will pay for.
I have seen all kinds.
To be continued...
homo unius libri
Warehouse for the slowly dying.
ReplyDeleteThat is probably not a bad description. Of course it fits the homes of a lot of us that are still pretty frisky.
ReplyDeleteGrace and peace