ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?

ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?

What’s wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can’t we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor. Death is not the enemy gentlemen. If we’re going to fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all. Indifferences.”

-           Robin Williams as Patch Adams

I loved this movie and I loved the quote at the end and it remains long after I watched the movie.

In March 2010 BFM, the business radio station interviewed me. Two of the memorable questions were, “Is Nursing Home a profitable business?” and I replied “Yes, it is, if it were not I will not be involved.”

The second question was, “What are the criteria to go into this business?” I replied, “If anyone going into this business just for the money, then I can show them many other ways to make money. Elderly care or nursing home business is a business of LOVE.” The interviewer pondered for a moment and replied “yes”.

Unlike childcare or kindergarten where we get to see young, energetic and noisy kids coming to the centre and watching them grow. And then we hear stories of them growing up, getting good grades and their graduations. It is all about achievements. Elderly care centres are just not like that. Most came in old, fragile, weak legs, weak heart and most will not leave the home alive. Most of them do not even want to be there. Culturally most Malaysians like to die in their own homes. The elderly knew they will not leave the centres or home alive. They will end up in hospitals or pass away in their sleeps. There will be stories of them struggling with pain from bed sores, cancer and arthritis.

There was this lady who suffered from Alzheimer, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart and allergy to some of the medications. She was taking over ten types of medications. The many types of medications caused her body to be as stiff as a log. One day a care giver tried to take her to the shower. The care giver had to lift her up from the bed slowly. And then she had to slowly loosen her muscles before she can put her on the wheel chair. Without warning the lady just slipped and fell to the floor like a log and cut her forehead. She was sent to the hospital in Penang and I had to go to investigate the incidents before we get sued.

The sad story of this lady was that it took her a long time to die, I know I sounded crude, or perhaps you may prefer she lived a bit way too long. She lived in our home in Penang for almost eight years, she could hardly move, bedridden, pain all over and towards her end life she suffered from very bad bed sores, which our best nurses and doctors could do nothing to prevent. The only comfort from this entire story is that I knew my nurses and care givers had given their best although very often the best is simply not good enough.