HEARTBEAT:The elderly have a contribution to make – and they know the clouds part and the sun shines again, writes MAURICE NELIGAN.
POST-EASTER quiet has settled on this little haven. Most of the younger generation and their broods have departed, returned now to the world of work and stress.
One or two are left, protesting to all that they just have an extra few days’ holidays and, in fact, they still have a job. The uproar of Easter egg hunts has died away leaving nature to its springtime stage.
I have been thinking of that revolving wheel on which we hold such a tenuous place. When we first came here, we were the young family groups, certain of our roles in the general plan, knowing everything, not prey to worries or doubts.
We deferred to our seniors, listened to their stories and made sure they were included in everything. I cringe to remember what a patronising shower we were. But as my physician colleague Sir Thomas Browne wrote 300 years ago “there is no antidote against the opium of time”. Now we are the Elder Lemons, and our children and even grandchildren are looking out for us lest we embarrass them by some inappropriate reversion to our youth. We are expected to be our age.
This rankles a bit. We still have a contribution to make, not merely financial, or by babysitting, but in experience, tales to tell, even songs to sing. We’ve been through recessions and lived to tell the tale. We know that the clouds part and the sun shines again. It may illuminate a different landscape but that requires mere adjustment. This is not the end of the world.
Fatalism is an enemy here. Catastrophe should not be accepted with a Deus vult(God wills it) or inshallah(if Allah wills) or whatever phrase your language or culture proffers. There is always a counter proposition like "God helps those who help themselves". Not for the first time you realise that the druids and their successors were adept at covering all sides.
Therefore, destiny is not an option. Doing nothing and wallowing in dolour and self-pity are not options. We must bestir ourselves, however reluctantly. We must encourage and give hope. This is where the Elder Lemons club comes into play.
This venerable institution has been in existence for all of five minutes. To qualify for membership you must be over 65 years and in possession of at least 90 per cent of your marbles. Your children’s opinion does not count. You are only allowed a maximum of two senior moments a day. Now where was I? Yes, I remember.
There are very few rules. Trying to make things better and helping others comprises the whole philosophy. There are lots of things you can do if you think about it and small groups doing small things can fashion great achievements. Become a fully-paid up Elder Lemon, establish your local group and get going. There is no point in waiting for others to do something because that may never happen.
This is a problem for all of us and we must graft a little harder for the sake of our children, grandchildren and our country.
One of the ways we can contribute is by protest. That sounds almost like a contradiction in terms, but it’s not. It’s simply a statement that we’re not having that. We have to have a think about what it is that we’re not having and state lucidly and vehemently why we won’t accept it. Remind the increasingly remote powers that we Lemons vote. We’ve been accepting and tolerating for far too long. Now we must be questioning and assertive. I quote Sir Thomas Browne again. “There are many canonised on earth that shall never be saints in heaven.” Consider that in the political rather than the religious sense. It is time for the reckoning.
Staying with us seniors for a moment, I saw a headline today that the HSE has recorded a major increase in elder abuse.
“Well,” I said to myself, “things are really changing. They’re going to admit that having the elderly on trolleys for days, or sitting in chairs in AE departments, and taking away medical cards once awarded, or removing home helps and carers’ allowances, constitute elder abuse.”
I even thought there might be some contrition for removing the home security grant, that gives a measure of comfort to our older folk and allows them feel more secure in their homes in these increasingly lawless times.
I really am losing my grip. Needless to say there was no acknowledgement, let alone contrition, by this organisation that they are a major cause of this problem – just as much or more than abusers in family or among so-called carers. Insight has never been a strength of this organisation.
Other fascinating little snippets caught my attention. The long service allowance for TDs abolished in the Budget apparently will not apply to those labouring so hard for us now. Apparently, also, there is some doubt as to whether ministerial pensions now paid to serving members of the Dáil will be discontinued as also mooted in the Budget.
Meanwhile, some of the levies outlined by Mr Lenihan will be backdated to January 1st. One law for the Dáil and a different law for the rest of us. Will they never get it, that they are not the flavour of the month? Do they never listen?
Since we’re in dreamland, two other little bits. First, the question of student fees may be postponed until after the local and European elections. I wonder why?
Second, the Minister for Trolleys did not attend the IMO annual general meeting in Killarney. You can fashion your own comment on that.
Maurice Neligan is a cardiac surgeon