While waiting for our turn to see the doctor at HKL recently, a nonagenarian sat next to us. The moment she sat down, she struck up a conversation with Cass in Mandarin. Then I joined in the conversation and talked to her in Cantonese.
The frail lady was very chatty as if she hadn't talked to anyone for a long time. The first few words that came out of her mouth were that of self-condemnation. She told me that she felt like a burden to her family as she frequently needs someone to bring her to the hospital. She has an age-related bladder issue and needs a urine bag.
Lady - what's the point of living so long? A few of my sons are living overseas and I dare not ask my other children to bring me to the hospital as they are all very busy. Only my 3rd child, a daughter is willing to bring me to the hospital. It's a blessing to have daughters.
Me - how old are you?
Lady - I am 90 years old. I feel like a burden to my children because I am useless and need a urine bag. I keep waking up at night to go to the toilet.
And then she kept harping on the fact that it's pointless to live such a long life. I wanted to chat with her longer but her daughter pushed her away in her wheelchair to another waiting area.
This kept me thinking. Is it a blessing to live up to a hundred years old? The Chinese are fond of wishing the elderly good health and long life during Chinese New Year and birthdays.
A good family friend of ours who's in her late 80s has been bedridden and living in a nursing home in Ipoh for over a year now. She has dementia, doesn't talk, needs to be fed through a feeding tube, and has to be on diapers 24/7. Stick thin and looking immensely forlorn, it pains us each time we look at her. Everyone thought that she would pass on first before her husband but her husband died in his sleep recently. He was 92. It's very costly to keep her alive but I guess God is not ready to take her back yet. And so she continues to suffer 😥. So do her children.
Do you think that it's a blessing to have the gift of longevity if there's no quality of life? Would you be happy if none of your children are living with you or near you in your golden years? Imagine yourself in your eighties, alone and in ill health. You feel like a burden to everyone because of your failing health as well as a financial burden to your children who each has their own commitments.
It would be ideal if we have sufficient savings to live a comfortable life till the day we depart from this earth to meet our creator and be blessed with good health, mobility, and cognition till we breathe our last breath so that we will never be a burden to anyone. One is truly blessed if he or she has no major health issues and dies peacefully in sleep. I pray I'll be blessed in this way.
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