Your Granny's Nurse: Dateline 2027
Life in the Nursing home has changed a great deal since I first started writing this column, way back in aught six. For me, the most major change has been in the Nursing home population. It used to be that we cared for a lot of patients with Alzheimers' Disease. I thank my lucky stars on a daily basis that the cure for Alzheimers was as simple as doing away with food additives. Frankly, I'd much rather spend my days dealing with a pleasantly confused little old ladies,, than dealing with these CD wackos. CD, or Crack Dementia started being noticed back in 2010, and you'd think, with how horrid a disease it is, with its convulsions,violent mood swings, hallucinations,and anorexia,people would stop using the stuff. I get sick and tired of caring for people young enough to be my kid, just because they wanted a cheap high. It is painful to watch them agonize day after day. Oh well, just goes to show you, you can't teach everyone. The pot we give them calms them down for a few hours, but since the more powerful antipsychotic drugs don't work on them, we do what we can. Why didn't they see that ingesting all those powerful chemicals would catch up with them?
We still see our share of Cancer, but since tobacco was outlawed in 2016, it has dropped way back.Isn't it funny that all those tobacco farmers are now getting government subsidies to grow hemp? God Bless President Clinton. Chelsea, that is. The stem cells help a lot too, now that we can grow a new pancreas or liver. the Cancer folks are generally just here for a little rehab, then back home.
Nowadays, we also seem to be bombarded with sports injuries. Don't these septogenarians realize that just because they still look forty, their innards are freakin' seventy! They never should have started offering Botox at WalMart.
I guess the other major change is that I'm still working. I had hoped to retire in '19, but when President Cheney did away with Social Security to pay for the Iranian War,back in '2009, that had to be shelved. I still like the little luxuries that a steady paycheck brings, such as food and electricity. Maybe next year.
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Comments: 21
Magi
Magi
"They never should have started offering Botox at WalMart." is a truly great observation.
However, I found your spacing problems really distracting. Moer careful editing would help.
I'm sure many food additives are not particularly good for us, but I have little hope they will be found to be the main culprit in any human disease - don't foget we live much longer today than we ever did in the past, with all those additives and chemicals out there. In fact, while there have been a couple of sad mistakes like Thalidomide, we do know what the majority of man-made pharmaceuticals (legal) have done: they've more than doubled life expectancy over pre-scientific medicine levels, and reduced infant and maternal mortality to a mere fraction of what it used to be in our "natural" state (and sadly, still is in some countries where medical care is not available). Most of us wouldn't be here without them.
Point taken. Thank you. I'm always open to critique, and deeply appreciate the feedback.
Aniko,
I am in no way condemning the great things the drug companies have done, but I also know that mistakes are made. I also believe that while pharmaceuticals do account in part for greater longevity, better hygiene practices and a more balanced diet play thier parts too. Remember, the story is fiction. As for the additives, I respectfully disagree. I know my own health has improved since I stopped buying processed foods.
I love time travel writing. But then I'm a little scifi geeky. Like everyone else said, your extrapolating on what could be was entertaining and chilling.