Frail lady

I was in bus 27 last night, having just boarded the bus at the brand new T3. A lady of 50s boarded the train, she seems to have a difficulty climbing up the steps, with a hand holding the rails and a man (which I presumed to be her husband) at her side giving her support. As she slowly climbed up the stairs, I realized that she had a stroke, half of her body seem paralysed, she has almost no strength to move at all. She is depending solely on one side of her body to move around.

And I thought, does she having any children to support her and her aging husband? How about her medical fees, the operations and the hospitals stay and the continuous therapy she had to go for to improve her condition? Are they able support themselves? Can they cope with the rising inflation? Is any social organisation or government helping her?

I think it's quite sad when you age, you start to have all kind of illness. Dementia, falling eyesight, restricted movement, getting weaker, chronic disease like diabetics. As your grandchildren grow up, there's lesser and lesser topics between you and them. They are no longer the small toddlers years ago, they have their own world, own friends now. And for the present group of elders who are mostly illiterate, they cannot even understand what's showing on tv and other forms of media.

We should perhaps slow down sometimes and talk to our grandparents, shower them with care and concern, make them feel they are still valued, respected even they have become old and frail.

les