This is not a first-hand situation, but I was surprised when I heard about this incident within my extended family.
Two years ago, an 80-year-old woman, Gladys, who was otherwise healthy, developed an irregular heart beat. Her doctor tried several meds and treatments to correct Gladys’s heart condition, but nothing was working.
Don, Gladys’s son, did his own research and found that a pacemaker is commonly used to correct irregular heartbeat. He asked Gladys’s doctor about the pacemaker option, and the doctor, at first, dismissed the idea “due to Gladys’s age.”
After Don and Gladys persisted, she finally got her pacemaker. And she’s doing fine today
* When have you had to clarify that your age should not be the only factor in making medical decisions?
True story. A friend of mine, and one of our generation, reported to her doctor that a new medication they were trying hadn't been working as well as expected. Replied the great physician, "So, what do you want? To live forever?"
This is not a first-hand situation, but I was surprised when I heard about this incident within my extended family.
Two years ago, an 80-year-old woman, Gladys, who was otherwise healthy, developed an irregular heart beat. Her doctor tried several meds and treatments to correct Gladys’s heart condition, but nothing was working.
Don, Gladys’s son, did his own research and found that a pacemaker is commonly used to correct irregular heartbeat. He asked Gladys’s doctor about the pacemaker option, and the doctor, at first, dismissed the idea “due to Gladys’s age.”
After Don and Gladys persisted, she finally got her pacemaker. And she’s doing fine today
* When have you had to clarify that your age should not be the only factor in making medical decisions?
True story. A friend of mine, and one of our generation, reported to her doctor that a new medication they were trying hadn't been working as well as expected. Replied the great physician, "So, what do you want? To live forever?"
And so it goes.