I hate taking my 99 year old mother-in-law to the blood clinic. It is clinically clean, politically polite, and absolutely awful. People are numbers; they are poked and prodded and they are so patient and extremely nice waiting in line. And, I try really hard to say the nurses are more than obliging but, really, they do anything to keep tempers down and the line constantly moving. It is like we are all bits in a moving machine--wait here, go to station 'A,' move on to station 'B,' wait there, get pricked here, please leave without interfering with anyone else's turn. It is absolutely impersonal and the nurses call everyone 'dear' with the same sort of insincerity. I hate being there.
The fellow next to us in line today was chatty. I think he was scared; the matriarch thought he was trying to pick her up; he was probably just passing the time in the seemingly endless wait. Three times he told us he hadn't eaten for twelve hours and that he had brought a sandwich to eat after his blood test. Three times he told us. And, there was nothing for the nurses to do but keep the machine wheels turning and this poor man standing hungry in line. I am beginning to reconsider this whole medical machine. If anyone had been sick in the clinic, my mother-in-law would have caught it; I just don't think this is worth it. I cannot make my mother-in-law's medical decisions but I can make my own and I just can't see trying to continue my life in this manner. I would rather have someone who has sincerity and sympathy care for me and make a mistake than to have someone pretend to enjoy keeping me alive. I don't know--it was horrendous being at the clinic this morning.
And, the fellow in line was younger than me so I am pretty sure, despite my mother-in-law's view, he wasn't looking for a 99 year old girlfriend. I hope we do not see him again (and that his health is good.)
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I wish, I really REALLY wish, you would consider writing a book. Call it 98 days :P But honestly, you have so many stories, so many thoughts and experiences that you could share. I think it would be a wonderful contribution and source of support for those who would read it.
ReplyDeleteProdding old people's arms looking for weak veins to extract thin blood is not only invasive but very cruel. Doctors who prescribe blood thinners (rat poison) to thin the blood of old people so it can pass through collapsed veins, to keep old people alive, is obscene.
ReplyDeleteAnd Angel is right, you should put pen to paper. Your book might help other seniors make better choices.