Monday, July 26, 2021

COVID Exiting Stage Left While Making Long Term Care Curtain Calls

Are we there yet?  How much farther do we have to go?  When WILL we be THERE?

Like children, adults have been sitting in the back seat for over a year and a half, not able to see ahead,  not in control of where they're headed or when they'll get there. COVID, Delta, it will be called by many names before we reach our "destination".

We were along for the ride with all the bumps and unexpected turns, the slips and slides, the ever changing surroundings and constant fluctuating heights and deep dips as we continued our journey to a destination always"just a little farther down the road".

Aging and the "perils" ahead can sometimes be seen, prepared for if you're fortunate and unfortunately our society TELLS US "if we just make the right choices, follow the correct directions" we'll build that "great life" and benefit from it until we die. 

It's not always true, applicable or even feasible and there are more chances every day to have your life interrupted and even negatively affected by forces beyond your control.

Few of us do more than look at the growth of the number of Senior Residences as a way of recognizing we're growing older in numbers far larger than the past. 

And, quite frankly, when there were deaths in Long Term Cares over this horrid time, it was "to be expected" and then, when it hit younger and younger and even children, we shook our heads and cried out in concern because -- IT SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING....THERE....

We need knowledge NOW. We need enlightenment NOW. 

Most of all, we NEED TO KNOW to make plans and changes for those faced with living in Long Term Care today and those who will require some form of "supervised" or "contained" living accomodations -- yes, that's the new "Continuum of Care".

"Something wicked this way comes" can seem to be the message of the day because information is unclear, difficult to find and, most of all,  hidden from view intentionally and through practices that are antiquated and harmful to a growing percentage of our population -- those beyond the age of 65.

Even those who "have planned" and "are set" can be hit hard by the unexpected medical, social and/or financial challenges. 

In a heartbeat or over an extended time of uncontrollable life challenges, there are continuing Acts of Life's Play that seem to be never ending and definitely beyond constant or even predetermined control.

Let's lift the curtain a little higher on the Stage of Life:

Let's stop along the road of long enough to realize we need a map (printed or digital) and clear directions along with knowledge of the destination we're moving toward.

It's time to move forward, looking backward, while stopping to examine, become famliar with and work toward change.

No segment of life by color, creed, belief or practice and especially by age should be overlooked and undersupported.

Children are low contributors to society; we look to the future for their "benefits" to be given.

Our older population has spent years contributing often sacrificing for "the next generation/generations", standing in the face of adversity, weathering the storms of life and continuing to move forward -- passing each decade into the unknown.

WHEN AND HOW WILL WE VALUE THOSE WHO HAVE "GONE BEFORE", created the road making us capable of looking and moving ahead while maintaining stability in the worst of times and creating so many "best of times"?

Each of us holds a. key to the future of care and concern for all ages and stages of life. 

It's a lock that needs many consistent attempts and trials by hands of all shapes, sizes and colors.

It's never too early.... seek and find, raise your voice on sites that contribute to positive change and actions for a better world for our aging population. 

Remember.....today you're twenty, tomorrow fifty and with a heartbeat, into your seventies, eighties and beyond. What you do today for others, you're doing for yourself for tomorrow. It's never too early but it can be too late. ACT NOW!