"It's a bugger getting old," my father used to say but, sadly, he never did. Like most of his family before him, he was gone before his 69th birthday. My mother hung on until she was 92 but that was a tragedy of another kind. Suffering with dementia, her last days were appalling and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
I'm now in my 80th year and I'm watching my contemporaries, one by one, succumbing to ill-health or worse. Several of my school friends have already passed away and I worry about receiving an email from someone who rarely contacts me in case it is bad news.
Just this weekend, we heard from a good friend that she is struggling to cope with changes in her husband's level of independence. He is a bit older than she is and they have only one daughter who lives interstate. Our friend now has to cope with a husband who is almost bed-ridden and who is unnable to cope with things like putting on his shoes and climbing into bed. What is the wife to do? She can't lift him and, although they've been married for more than half a century, she knows he will need to go into aged care.
But how easy is that to organise? Not at all! She is waiting to hear from the ACAT team whether a place might be available which is not at the other end of the state. And all the faciliites are struggling with finding and retaining staff. Who would choose to work in that environment, unappreciated and poorly paid?
While our Prime Minister is unapologetic and refuses to back a $1 increase in the hourly rate for these stalwarts. Instead, he prefers to give tax cuts to the highest-paid people in our society.
Fake news again John???
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