Can we get back to this?

I see more and more elderly people going to the doctors alone. When I was a kid, I don’t remember seeing that happen very often. Someone was with them… a son or daughter… nephew or niece… a friend. Someone to help ease the worry… or decipher the medical jargon that would sail over the heads and breeze in and out of their ears. I dunno if this phenomenon is endemic to my family or not, but NOBODY goes to the doctor alone… especially and elderly person.
Aside from even mentioning the rising medical care cost, or quality of treatment a patient may receive, I guess the ultimate point I am making is the decline I see in social support networks… especially in times like these. Sometimes I think our communities have developed an apathy or have become desensitized to what is around them… it’s appalling and frustrating. I was talking to a co-worker the other day about the state of the world… all the war and violence that surrounds us and whatnot… I was wondering, where do we start? Do we address the issues in our backyard? Or the ones that the higher ups (politicians and other super powers) have created worldwide. She said the best thing to do is start with yourself. Fix what’s going on with you before you expend energy in another direction. I’ve thought about this, but didn’t think about this… know what I mean? I mean, I’m cognizant of taking care of myself first, but do I actually do it? Nope. *sigh*
Back to accompanying elderly people to the doctor… I guess I’m kinda nostalgic about that because I was often accompanying my grandma and aunt on their visits. Many moons ago, I had this idea of being a pediatrician. When my grandma caught wind of that, I think she would delight in my following along. She said that if I wanted to be a doctor, I had to see how it is done. Today, I was wondering if I learned anything from those visits… and I did… I learned how to treat people with respect… how it is important to have compassion and to be genuine with your patient regardless as to whether or not others think so… that systems are not balanced and equal and that you have to be your own advocate to get your human right, which is quality health… and that even though you bear witness to a persons demise, to not focus on the negative, but eventually find a positive and grow from that… Thanks grandma for making me spend those visits with you. =)