Maureen Stefanides at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital with her father, Joseph Andrey, waiting to move to a nursing home despite their efforts to arrange for 24-hour care at his apartment. Credit Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

“Joseph Andrey was 5 years old in 1927 when his impoverished mother sold him to the manager of a popular vaudeville act. He was 91 last year when he told the story again, propped in a wheelchair in the rehabilitation unit of a nursing home where it seemed as though age and infirmity had put a different kind of price on his head.

“Craning his neck, he sought the eyes of his daughter, Maureen Stefanides, who had promised to get him out of this place. ‘I want to go home, to my books and my music,’ he said, his voice whispery but intense.

“He was still her handsome father, the song-and-dance man of her childhood, with a full head of wavy hair and blue eyes that lit up when he talked. But he was gaunt now, warped like a weathered plank, perhaps by late effects of an old stroke, certainly by muscle atrophy and bad circulation in his legs.

“Now she was determined to fulfill her father’s dearest wish, the wish so common among frail, elderly people: to die at home.”

Click here to read this New York Times article in its entirety.

Perhaps you’ve not read the article in the recent issue of The Atlantic.

Ezekeil J. Emanuel, “director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and heads the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania”, wrote this article: “Why I hope to die at 75: An article that society and families - and you - will be better off if nature takes its course swiftly and promptly.”

Of course, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion on any topic.

As expected, numerous counter arguments and articles have endorsed or rejected his article.

“Why one prominent doctor says, ‘ hope to die at 75’” - CBS News

“Scholar Zeke Emanuel says he wants to die at 75. Here’s why this author hope to live.” - column, The Washington Post

Washington Post columnist, Ruth Marcus, asks “Why set a deadline on life?”

“… age is no absolute barometer for human vitality and dignity,” writes columnist Victor Hanson.

A few weeks ago, this Washington Post article stated, “The country’s system for handling end-of-life care is largely broken and should be overhauled at almost every level, a national panel concluded in a report released on Wednesday.”

Dr. Emanuel is the son of Benjamin M. Emanuel and Marsha (Smulevitz) Emanuel, and is a divorced father of three daughters. His two younger brothers are Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and Hollywood-based talent agent Ari Emanuel. He has an adopted sister, Shoshana Emanuel. His father’s brother, Emanuel, was killed in the 1936 Arab Riots in the British Mandate of Palestine, after which the family changed its name from Auerbach to Emanuel in his honor. - Wikipedia

“The decline of cognitive function that comes with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias should not limit a senior’s ability to maintain some independence, even if they have to give up driving. As a senior caregiving professional, you can play a crucial role in assessing a client’s driving ability and helping them transition to using alternative modes of transportation. The key lies in offering a variety of options to help seniors continue to get around.

“Family members may ask to enlist your aid in starting the “car keys” conversation with their loved one. Because seniors tend to respect the authority of a physician or other caregiving professional regarding these matters, they often hear “you need to stop driving” better when it comes from a doctor rather than a family member.

“If you have this conversation with a senior, be empathetic. Imagine how you might feel if you couldn’t drive to work or to the grocery store tomorrow. Consider how limited you might feel if you were not able to come and go from your home at will. By approaching the issue from an empathetic standpoint, you may find the senior becomes more open to hearing you.”

Read this article at CaregiverStress.com in its entirety.