How do you feel about getting old, is it a subject you steer clear of, does it scare you? I admit I am terrified of ending up a doddering remnant of the man I was,dependent on nurses or carers, tottering around in a walking frame or worse ...bedridden. There is no way on Gods earth that I will ever let it get to that.
claymore Mon 29/09/08 07:30
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Hi claymore that's a gloomy thought to start the week - I can't imagine there are too many of us who would look forward to the scenario you depict and a lot of us would think the same way.
I haven't reached that unenviable stage - yet !! but as the years pass and the odd bits and pieces don't work quite as they used to, it becomes apparent that I'm not a teenager anymore and by the law of averages will possibly be a widow through the last years of my life.
Oh yuck, now I'm getting thoroughly morbid, think I'll put it all on the backburner for a few more years. And you just stop it too or you'll have nightmares or something
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i agree, having watched my old chap deteriorate and eventually become wholly dependant and having no dignity i will not let that happen to me,
'i am going outside and may be some time' is the way i will choose to call it a day - as per captain oates,
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Strangely it is not something I have to worry about.I just turned 40 this year and have been told I will be lucky to make it to the age of 50 due to my having emphysema.I already use a wheelchair frequently and there are days I can't get out of bed..........I say bed but I actually have to sleep on a reclining chair.
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Aaw daffy, bless your heart xxxxx
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Yes daffy sweetie , I always think of the older generation that they are lucky to have had the health to reach senior years .
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Awww Daffy, I was about to have a whinge as I am getting towards pension age myself and bits are starting to drop off lol.
The only consolation is that I get free bus travel next year
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Claymore- that's one reason I'm always pleasant to my daughter-in-law- she may be the one choosing which home i'll end up in :-(
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I'm not looking for sympathy bathsheba :-) but thanks.xxx
I have more or less come to terms with it now.
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Oh my daffy...what you have said puts everything into perspective. We should all just count our blessings,and take each day as it comes.
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I got my bus pass last year.....what I save goes to pay my ever-rising gas bill... ;-(
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All the older, dependant people I have known have wanted to keep going as long as possible because they enjoy spending time with their loved ones, and care deeply about them.
Bedridden is horrible, but not as bad as it used to be. You can still 'have a life' if you are housebound or bedridden by the power of the internet.
Even having a very painful condition can often be bearable with the right drugs.
It is dementia I fear.
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Can anyone remember who it was who, when asked whether he minded getting old, replied "Not when I consider what the alternative is."?
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My family already think i'm demented Ethel :-) Seriously though,dementia is not something to joke about and before my diagnosis I did sometimes worry that it would happen to me in old age.How awful it must be for the family to watch a loved one going downhill in that way,and for the sufferer themselves in their moments of lucidity to know they are losing their mind!!!
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I think it all depends where your old age is and who you have around you at that time. For me getting old and fragile is the part of the whole game. You start weaker as a child, you get stronger when you sometime believing that this is how you going to stay forever. That is the mistake as you still have to revert back to weakness once more.
I think many people are afraid of getting older because they are own their own. I know it is difficult when you can not even eat yourself and you need help with even basic cleaning and so. But I would not call it undignified. My parents are older and if I have to clean and dress them up sometimes I would not hesitate as they did more than that for me when I was a child. Only by doing that I would hope that my children do that for me if they have to.
In the end life is a test, few pass and of course few fail.
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I worry about getting old, but I remind myself the lyrics from the Heaven 17 song We Live So Fast: 'Those who think young will still survive'. There is an old silver-haired rocker in my local town who drives around on a chopper in black leather and a ponytail. When I reach that age, I would rather be like him than the pathetic dodderers in caps and raincoats carrying Tescos bags.
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Go for it jock......I am past 60 and considering pink for my hair......giggle!!
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Ha ha, like it Pastafreak :-D Lol.
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Ya know .... nature can be a cruel, yet sometimes amazing thing.
I have an uncle who is suffering from dementia. He was a life-long smoker, but since his dementia he appears to have forgotten that he was a smoker. He has made no mention of his cigarettes since he was admitted to a nursing home several months ago. I'm sure he isn't pining for a fag - if he was, I would make sure he got one (whether it be right or wrong).
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I would never want to be a burden on my family. Old age in itself isn't undignified, but if it's coupled with dementia, or chronic disability, then it is - and it's terribly sad. The thought of dying doesn't scare me - but the thought of ever being unable to care for myself frightens the life out of me! From a personal point of view, I can think of nothing worse than that.
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