MGordon_MD
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Nov 12, 2010, 12:15 PM
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By Dr. Michael Gordon
Newspapers often print headlines such as this one in the January 2010 Winnipeg Free Press: “Baby-boomer dementia a rising national crisis, study says,” or this one from a report in a recent Toronto Dominion Bank economic-position paper: “Make rich seniors pay for drugs, health-care report says.”
You get a sense from such articles that Ontario and the rest of western civilization awaiting a veritable “tsunami” of seniors coming over the hills in their wheelchairs and walkers, ready to take over the finances of society and selfishly bankrupt them by illness and disability.
To counteract this vision, Moses Znaimer, the president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, wrote a refreshing article for the May 30 edition of the Toronto Star titled “Demographic tsnunami? Let’s dance!”
Znaimer makes cogent arguments that seem to have been ignored by those who predict doom and gloom for western countries because of their aging populations. It is his positive view that I believe should be the focus of those who are entering their zoomer/boomer period and those who are already in their senior years. One of the many important points made in the article is that current zoomers and those in the younger cohort have a distinctly different view of lifestyle and health promotion than those who are currently more senior.
It is bizarre that with all the effort that’s going into encouraging people to eat well and exercise, with the observed effect of their living longer and being healthier and less disabled and dependent in their senior years, seniors are being vilified for being the cause of an upcoming national financial health-care crisis. Maybe we should stop exhorting everyone to exercise and eat smartly, and encourage them to take up smoking again, with the hope that if they do everything possible to counteract good and active living, they might die before they are eligible for drug-benefit programs. What a money saver!
What is easily forgotten is that one of the great miracles of modern medicine, which builds on healthier lifestyles, is the use of medications for conditions that previously led to severe disability, medical dependency and premature death. We now can treat such conditions as high blood pressure, heart disease and arthritis, to name a few, turning them into chronic diseases that can be managed so that individuals with these conditions can continue to function well and lead productive lives.
It is easy to forget the fantastic contributions that seniors make to our society, not only in terms of the richness they bring to families, but also their legacies, stories and observations and commentaries. They bring much to contemporary life, and their perspective should go into important societal decisions.
Can anyone imagine a world devoid of loving grandparents in the lives of grandchildren, or seniors acting in the volunteer roles that they increasingly undertake late into their mature years? It is also forgotten that seniors spend money, contributing financially to society, as does everyone else.
Meanwhile, until all the pundits figure out what the solutions are to the financial implications of the international mortgage crises, failed banks and other financial disasters, let the world’s seniors prosper and continue to contribute to their families and societies, and let us stop blaming them. Instead, let’s honour them for what they give us.
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Dr. Michael Gordon is Medical Program Director, Palliative Care Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System in Toronto, Canada and Professor of Medicine, at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Gordon is the author of the engaging memoir Brooklyn Beginnings: A Geriatrician's Odyssey, published by I-Universe.
Brooklyn Beginnings is available in bookstores and online at: Indigo-Chapters, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and I-Universe
Moments That Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare: A Guide for Family Members, is available online at Amazon.ca.
His latest release is Late-Stage Dementia: providing comfort, compassion and care. It is available at Amazon and Indigo.
Visit Dr. Michael Gordon's website.
(This post was edited by MGordon_MD on Nov 12, 2010, 12:22 PM)
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