Old Age: America's Last Bastion of Discrimination

For a country that prides itself on being politically correct and cognizant of other people’s feelings, America sure is selective as to who benefits from its largesse. I have always been cognizant of age as an issue. In the 1968 glory days, the cry was not to trust anyone over the age of 30. When I reached 30, I pushed the limit to 40. When I reached 40, I figured I crossed the Rubicon and shouldn’t trust myself. But this year, it has ceased being funny. As I approach the ripe old age of 59, I am becoming more and more convinced that age is America’s last bastion of acceptable discrimination.

Several things have raised my “we are going to get screwed” antenna. Ohio State popped up first on my radar. The alumni association, besides reneging on its promise of ticket availability to us long time purchasers, announced that the preferred way to purchase football tickets from now on will be on-line. Tickets will no longer be available by mail. If you can’t use a computer, and the vast majority of people over the age of 65 cannot use a computer, you don’t get tickets. I don’t know for sure whether ticket purchasers will be required to receive all notices of upcoming ticket availability by email, or if a mailing will be sent out, but it is not right. Even those who are computer savvy may be hesitant to purchase anything on-line. Perhaps there will be telephone sales, but I doubt it. This is the stuff lawsuits are made of.

John McCain’s bid for the presidency this year has been the subject of continual “old people” jokes. If any of the late night talk show hosts made the same type comments about minorities or blacks, they would be yanked off the air. Think “nappy headed ho”. The old age jokes are continuous and becoming vicious. Do you think you would ever hear David Letterman say that if Obama is elected we should all learn to eat watermelon? It is unacceptable and wrong. Certainly age is a consideration for McCain just as race is a consideration for Obama. But enough is enough.

On a more personal level, I am dealing with my elderly mother and attendant illnesses that would normally accompany an 89 year old. Recently, she has been diagnosed with a serious illness. While in the hospital, the treatment she received was bad, really bad. It was clear that they considered her old, and her needs and those of her elderly roommate where simply ignored by the staff in the worst possible way. I also experienced the same thing with my father who died at the age of 84. His life then and my mother’s now were considered to be throw-away, including some unbelievable comments made right on the chart about how my father should be treated.

More disturbing is my mother’s diagnosis, or should I say diagnoses, as we have learned that she has more than one issue which all of her doctors neglected to discuss with us. Here is the problem. All of her illnesses are treatable, but the doctors have made it clear they are not interested. She has one issue which would normally be considered terminal, but was caught so early that a simple out-patient procedure would not only extend her life by several years, but possibly cure her. But they will not perform it unless we give permission for a more aggressive procedure, which because of her age, she would probably not survive. Folks, the two procedures are unrelated.

Roadblocks have been continually thrown in our way as we make inquiries as to available treatment. She has some breathing issues which no one bothered to explain, even though I have been asking about the problem for over a year. Finally, we looked at her chart and saw the diagnosis. It is treatable. Will it cure her? No, but it certainly would greatly improve the quality of her life. These aren’t heroic measures, folks, but minimum standards of care which would be dispensed to someone 20 years younger without a blink of an eye. Instead, the medical personnel want to discuss feeding tubes and comfort care and hospice, which by any measure are premature. If she receives minimum, proper care now, she may need those things in a year or two or three. If she doesn’t, she might need them in 3 or 4 months.

My father, who was a doctor himself, once told me about walking into a scrub room prior to surgery and bumping into a very upset heart surgeon who had just lost a patient on the table. My father personally knew the deceased and his age, 88. When he asked the surgeon why he was so upset as the patient was old and lived a good life, the surgeon replied, “He may have been 88, but he wanted to live to be 89.”

I thought about that story when I watched the horrible treatment my father received, and now again when I watch the same thing happening to my mother. We baby boomers, and that includes me, are the largest and wealthiest segment in our society. We didn’t stand for discrimination when we were marching the picket lines while we were in college, and we shouldn’t stand for it now. I am truly afraid that it will happen to me. You should be afraid that it will happen to you.