Life of Quality or Longevity When One Option Is Left?
She seemed an only child, but she did have
two brothers in the States.
When she left the
so-called nursing home, she didn’t dared to look at the sordid sight – that
her mother seemed to recognize her and mouth her name at the very moment before
her head dropped sitting in the wheel chair. On the way back home, she felt guilty of this and couldn’t get her
mother out of her mind from my heart. She didn’t allow guilt washing over her. She
had to do this, or what could she do with her father who had a clear mind but
was becoming more and more dependent on her?
She tried once to discuss with her two brothers on Skype about what they could do to help her when they took an annual vacation. As a matter of fact, this request kind of made their marriages to face the possibilities of being dissolved. Her sisters-in-law disagreed with coming back to Taiwan yearly and the sharing of the expenses. They said that she was the one, single without children and living on the monthly pensions of her parents. Besides, her parents left her their house and all the money outright in the bank. They thought if she had a house that should fulfill some requirements she needed. She hated the hostile she might have caused between her brothers and her, so she never mentioned again. She balanced her budget and spent money only out of necessity.
After that, she lost her nerve to bother her brothers about her parents. She did
the best she could do. How could she tell them that it was not about money but
all about the mental torments she was carrying on alone? She needed one of them
to accompany her through tough times and bring her some time to feel alive and
lighthearted a bit. It is true the theory about how to be a good one to
take care of the beloved and aged parent/s is always much easier than that done
in practice. The encouragement to her from the neighbors came back to her sometimes – “You are a wonderful daughter to care for your parents.”
How could she gain
freedom from social pressure being a good daughter, which really made her feel ill at ease? Most of the time, she occupied herself with trivial
daily things. She didn’t know she became kind of prissy.
She was terrified of it when the phone rang. She thought it was a call from
the nursing home and it must be something terribly happened to her mother.
Even though she was exhausted, mentally and physically, it took hours before she went to sleep. Her father’s love kept her to stay sane through all the troubles she went through. What about her good friends, who promised to stand beside her through thick and thin? Didn’t they have their own life since this was more than two decades passing by?
Even though she was exhausted, mentally and physically, it took hours before she went to sleep. Her father’s love kept her to stay sane through all the troubles she went through. What about her good friends, who promised to stand beside her through thick and thin? Didn’t they have their own life since this was more than two decades passing by?
Her parents, especially
her father, were regressing,which was demoralizing was to her. After they both turned 90 years old, her parents died within a year of
each other.
Gradually, peace
reigned inside of her in a way as it had been. Once, she was carefree and there
was not a thing to worry her.
Longevity and the health insurance in Taiwan
If you've been going through a lot, good days and bad
days, you might have truly learned that life is kind and cruel too. You might be
wondering about what the point is to fight for life beyond the age of
seventy-five when the bad outweighs the good by far. Is there anything you are still looking
for or unaccomplished? Why should you live a very long life when the world still keeps
spinning on its axis without you?
Longevity seems a very temping goal to look for, and it can't be second to wealth probably. Here comes a question – what one does with the long years of living, sort of doing nothing after the age of retirement.
Are the elderly pleased in a state of bliss when everyday repeats itself day after day, month after month and year after year, does life mean a lot to them then? Would they be questioning it is the time to “go” or should they are eager for the long life, possibly given by “the one no one exactly knows ITS real name?”
Health is getting deteriorating unavoidably, including body and mind, since aging is destiny. The options for the ill elderly in Taiwan might be:
Do you consider it must be wonderful if Taiwan puts it in action, the cradle-grave welfare? Really!?
In reality, Sweden concluded that its cradle-to-grave welfare, the rule in Sweden since the early 1950s, was chipped away because it threatened the national well-being (John Rapp, Associated Press, June 14, 1992).
Some might somehow envy at this welfare and ignore the possibilities of the decreasing motive for making more money on account of the high taxes required by the Swedish government due to people’s benefits in general. This kind of socialism might please some, not all at all.
Some might somehow envy at this welfare and ignore the possibilities of the decreasing motive for making more money on account of the high taxes required by the Swedish government due to people’s benefits in general. This kind of socialism might please some, not all at all.
I deeply believe that one should have more freedom to choose what kind life style he/she wants to. That means the income you earn should be planned by you and not by your country, and the tax rates should be reasonable. This allows people have more options to adopt the favorite way of life style, including span of life, of course.
Does the cradle-to-grave welfare mean a lot, which guarantees one can live as long as possible with the support of his/her country? What if one is very ill? What does “being alive” mean? Don’t you agree with a cradle-to-grave welfare is only an option?
In Taiwan, we have an amazing health insurance policy, which covers most of hospitalization. And we also have job retraining and subsidies for child care, monthly pay for the low-income family, etc. Not much, but we do. What does this mean?
Life expectancy of females and males in Taiwan were 82.47 and 75.96 respectively (Ministry of the Interior, September 4, 2014). There could have been four more years to live if both genders were not attached by tumor, heart disease, etc.
Do you really want to live long no matter how sick you are or to live a healthy and pleasant life but probably not that long as you expect?
Longevity seems a very temping goal to look for, and it can't be second to wealth probably. Here comes a question – what one does with the long years of living, sort of doing nothing after the age of retirement.
Are the elderly pleased in a state of bliss when everyday repeats itself day after day, month after month and year after year, does life mean a lot to them then? Would they be questioning it is the time to “go” or should they are eager for the long life, possibly given by “the one no one exactly knows ITS real name?”
Of course, physical and mental health is a key factor to decide life of quality, and then being sound in physical and mental condition is a must. Money to live long years is a key factor, or how one could survive without assistance from others. The help from children is another reason to help one to live long. The chance to rely on grandchildren is slim. As a result of that, an aged person better have an attitude towards longevity beyond question – that he/she needs to make the life more meaningful independently for better or for worse.
Health is getting deteriorating unavoidably, including body and mind, since aging is destiny. The options for the ill elderly in Taiwan might be:
Living alone it turns out this way. You will find out that is going to necessitate hiring in-home help for you once a while, depending on the local government budget. You try to deal with most things on your own even it takes you much effort to grab the chain on the blind. Or, you are lucky and rich to find a live-in help. You learn life is unpredictable, so is health for an elderly. Now, you don’t want to imagine it, which surely ruins your days while you’re still in sort of shape.
At a nursing home, you can’t find a familiar face at first. That scares you to the hell. You can’t do anything to arrange for yourself because you are too fragile to do so. You feel terribly sorry when you finally see the familiar but worried looks on the ones who you recognize and love forever. They seem desperately to convince themselves that is a good way to keep you there.
You live with one of your grown-up children, and grown-up grandchildren probably. If your illness is evaluated to be allowed to hire a live-in foreign help if you're able to pay for that. The help definitely assists you and lessens the tension and physical burden on your family. As a matter of fact, they’ve been under extraordinary stress, and they’re burning the candle at both ends.
You live with one of your grown-up children, and grown-up grandchildren probably. If your illness is evaluated to be allowed to hire a live-in foreign help if you're able to pay for that. The help definitely assists you and lessens the tension and physical burden on your family. As a matter of fact, they’ve been under extraordinary stress, and they’re burning the candle at both ends.
In one of the above situations, the help could stay with you if you can afford when you are alone, with your family or stay at a nursing home. Theoretically,your family should be still around or could visit you even when you are hospitalized and they are literally able to make it.
It is a matter of luck whether you can have a good help or not. In this case, you are with or without the ones you love, but you must be:
Suffering every hell after chemotherapy;
Suffering every hell after chemotherapy;
Repeating the exhausting procedure of treatment required;
Walking slowly and taking labored steps or sitting in a wheelchair.
Knowing what might come along with a long life is kind of feeling so badly, surely screaming off your chest for the hopeless and helpless.
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