Staring into the abyss

I know people who say that they know people who claim to actually know people who have no aging challenges.  Those lucky devils who haven't had to deal with any of aging's complications: they've got plenty of money, relatively good health and have kids who who are attentive to them.  Of course, I myself don't actually know anyone like that, but that's what I've been told.  However, for most of us, the challenges of aging are endless...

Though some of us have money, few have enough cash to completely insulate themselves from the staggering costs of aggressive health care when faced with the need to fight for their own survival.

I know people who've wondered whether or not they should fight for life or just give in and let themselves die.  Why?  Because they're petrified of bankrupting themselves and ending up alive but wishing they were dead-Oh my God, we've spent all our money!!   They sometimes feel caught between a rock and a hard place because in a lot of cases, their main motivation was the desire to leave something for their kids, and now they're wracked with guilt over needing their own money for themselves...

People with no money are at the mercy of a merciless system that measures health care in terms of profit and loss.  Personally, I've spent a good deal of what I thought were my savings on the care of my late father, the raising of my now teenage son, and just trying stay abreast of inflation.  For me, being Mr. Mom was a choice made for other than financial reasons, and I wouldn't change a thing- the parenting experience is, in my opinion, the best and most important thing you can do in life. But I'm more than a little nervous about what might await me in my old age...

The antidote?  I’m afraid there is none.

But careful oversight-having your children, relatives, friends, or neighbors agree to advocate for you-is, with or without money, the key.  Watchful eyes force health care providers to adhere a little more closely to the good practices that they're actually supposed to be following anyway.  All too often, in their zeal to cater to "the bottom line", many providers just don't...

It embarrasses me when my French family and friends remind me that all the health care in France is provided for by their system, while we Americans still have a hodge-podge, crazy-quilt, money and profit-first medical and elder care system where, without significant ways and means, people can simply fall through the cracks...

That’s a system?

Check out my website: http://www.jamielegon.com to see an excerpt from my book FEET FIRST-Riding the Elder Care Rollercoaster with My Father, follow my blogs, or to contact me directly...