How the elderly are treated in the USA.

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Poor Son Notes

Mark Lovas

11 episodes

6 days ago

As the son of elderly parents, I have been unhappy with the help our society provides. I attempt to describe my (and their) problems--the lack of dignity, the false professionalism, the pseudo-science and the lack of respect. This should be linked to the blog, also titled 'Poor Son Notes". CAVEAT: Even while Dr. G. did, in my opinion, communicate very badly--using primitive, unsubtle vocabulary whenever she stepped outside the realm of strictly medical language--she did help me, and my mother. She helped me and my mother by encouraging me to return to the USA, where I was able to help.

Society & Culture

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Society & Culture

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How the elderly are treated in the USA.

Poor Son Notes

5 minutes 32 seconds

4 years ago

How the elderly are treated in the USA.

I recently spoke to my mother. She is 94 years old, and has severe arthritis. It is not comfortable when the AC blows cold air directly onto her. Her care-givers--who are 40 or 50 or 60 or more years younger than her--do not notice this or think about it.

I attribute this is a broader indifference to the consumption of energy in the USA, and especially wasteful and unnecessary use of AC. (Alas, I see this starting to happen in Europe too....)

When I lived in El Paso, Texas, I witnessed young people who would dash to turn on the AC if they merely sweated a little bit.

This is wasteful and self-indulgent.

Of course, there are times when AC is necessary, but that ignores the most basic fact that my mother's actual comfort is neglected. (And we are paying these people to take care of her!!! Some of them, it seems, take care of themselves first!)

I would also like to add into the total equation the fact that my mother's residence is owned by a "real estate trust", and the management company which runs the place must return a reward to the owners (a.k.a., "social parasites"). In order to do that, costs must be cut. One way this is done is by keeping the place perpetually short-staffed. Another way is to have cheap AC/heating units, which, it happens, are noisy--on top of their other inconveniences. (EG that in the middle of winter, they regularly blow freezing cold air before they blow hot air--and 'blow' is very much the operative word. Drastically inferior to steam heat....) Another noteworthy feature of the place is that there is only one elevator, and it regularly breaks down. (The poor manager on site was embarrassed when on the grand day of the first "Corona Virus Vaccine Clinic", the elevator broke down, and stopped people coming down from the upper floors. It was repaired pretty quickly, but the scene was revealing about how the place is really run. A while back, a previous manager actually talked about buying a brand new elevator. It never happened. And there were also rumors that the place should have had two elevators, back when it was first built. Obviously, such an expenditure would cut into the demands of the social parasites called "owners".)

My mother is virtually a prisoner, in her own "home".