“I've Seen The Future — And You Don't Want To"

Lauren Kessler had a thought provoking piece in the Portland Oregonian last week (November 7) that I encourage readers of this blog to review.

Kessler says that even tough baby boomers often are in the position of being caregivers to frail older family members, they are not getting the message that the unpleasant reality that they see when they visit a long-term care facility is very likely to happen to them.

“I've seen the future says Kessler, — and you don't want to…you've seen the future, too, if you've tried finding, managing or paying for the care of an ailing, aging parent.

Let's say you found one that was clean and safe, that was close enough for regular visits. …It's a good place. But admit it: Every time you visit, you can't wait to leave. This will never happen to me, you vow under your breath on the way to the car.”

She says that even though we like to imagine a vigorous, stimulating old age for ourselves, that’s not the reality.

“… the statistics are against me, against us” says Kessler. The longer we baby boomers live, the more chance we have of falling prey to something that will erode ability to live the future we imagine. If AARP statistics are correct, only about a quarter of us will be living unassisted in our old age. The rest of us will be in continuing-care retirement facilities and assisted-living residences and adult foster care homes or, if we are not as fortunate, in nursing homes or memory care facilities. You know, those places our parents now live in, the ones we visit, the ones we can't wait to leave. This is what's in store for us unless we — the much-vaunted generation that sought to revolutionize just about everything — revolutionize elder care.”

She describes life in one typical long-term care facility and notes that even though the staff do their best, none of us would want to live there.

“The reason you or I wouldn't want to live at Maplewood — or thousands of other elder-care facilities in America — is that the place is seriously understaffed and the staff seriously overworked.”

You can find the full article at: ind this article at:

http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/11/07/1107kessler_edit.html

You can also isten to this article or download audio file