I recently interviewed Tim, a caregiver for his father with lewy body dementia. He gained a perspective on the last years of life being without dignity and choice. In many situations this is true. How can we change this or is it even possible? We’ve become a society that doesn’t talk about death or the realities of aging. Tim took his son to visit his father in the nursing home and noticed no fear. The four year old treated the older adults like people, talked to them, laughed with them. He didn’t look away like most middle aged adults, not wanting to know or saying “I don’t visit because I don’t want to remember my parent like that.” What happens between child and adulthood that makes us so callous and uncaring? This behavior toward others who need compassion and empathy toward end of life might be considered worse than death.
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