Being old...

We all get older one day at a time, but we get old at our own rate. I like to consider being old not as a state of age but as a lack of ability to do the things that we enjoy. With that in mind I don't want to get old; I instead want to live until I die. But since when do I get everything that I want out of life, eh?

The state of old is not a pleasant state, there are so many things that can make us old. I have dealt with my share of old people as an emergency responder and I have come to dislike those calls. Not because there is no adrenaline rush like there is with a fire call, extrication or a rescue call, but because of the nature of the call. I often wonder when I reach my advanced stage of life if I am going to end up being just another old guy who is watched over by some underpaid provider. Even those who are able to stay in their own home, there is a certain amount of loneliness that comes when there is no one to check in one you other then to meet their minimum requirement of some contract. That old guy that people avoid so they don't have to listen to the hours of rambling on about the days of their youth.

The fire service has learned from past experience that a person's span of control is three to five. Span of control is defined as the number of entities that one person can monitor, process information from and interact with successfully. I know from experience the "less-that-assistant" living facilities that I have visited have a span of control of around seven to ten, which in my mind means at least five of them are not getting all the care that they are needing. This lack of attention results in a degradation of the level of service that is provided to the residents. I often wondered if people knew what little care was provided to their loved ones in these facilities if they would make other arrangements or if the bottom line is driving the choices they have made. Sometimes the lowest bidder is just that, the lowest level of commitment and service.

I can't imagine what it must be like to be completely dependent on someone else and I hope that I never get to that state where I have to find out what that feels like. Every year there are completely disgusting reports of elderly abuse and neglect. People who are taking advantage of those to weak to take care of themselves. Those who are using the elderly for their retirement of social security checks so they can lead a life that has a few more perks. The few that are so weak themselves that they choose to exert physical violence against the elderly. All of which sickens me to thing that some day I might end up there. That some day I might find myself walking down the edge of the snowy road with no shoes, no coat, no idea where I am going and no idea from whence I came. That some day I will have the eyes of an engine company looking at me with pity and confusion because I can provide them with no details of my life to assist them in providing me with the care I need.

While I could build me up a soap box and holler about the mistreatment of the elderly, I choose instead to challenge everyone put themselves in their shoes. I know I am just as guilty as the rest of the older youngin's at being busy with my own busy life, but as much as we might not want to admit it there are always a few 'important' things in our life that can slide a little giving us a few precious minutes that can be used to look in on those who could use a little looking in on. Who knows maybe some day we all will look forward to those few minutes when someone pops by to say hi or to share a cup of coffee.

If for no other reason, that person who is full of recollections of times before we were a twinkle in our parents eye might someday be us and that recollection might be something along the lines of the Y2K bug.