It's OK to remove me first

Now given time to read the news in a bit more depth, two articles caught my eye:

Morbid ‘boomer remover’ coronavirus meme only makes millennials seem more awful, NY Post, 3/19/20 and ETHICAL DILEMMAS: WHOSE LIVES SHOULD WE SAVE? Los Angeles Times via Minnepolis Star Tribune.

The second piece, about the potential ethical decisions which will need to be made should medical resources not be sufficient to treat all Covid-19 patients who need them, asked pointedly:

Three patients — a 16-year-old boy with diabetes, a 25-year-old mother and a 75-year-old grandfather — are crammed into a hospital triage tent and struggling to breathe. Only one ventilator is left. Who gets it?

I don't wish to weigh in on whether the 16-year-old or 25-year-old should get the ventilator, but I hope it would go to one of them, not Grandpa.

At age 67, I am a boomer. I am in good health. I have a lot of things on my bucket list I still want to do. I would like to live long enough to see great-grandchildren and to watch my current grandsons transition into adulthood. I want to continue playing with friends, writing a little, and reading books. I still contribute in small ways to society through volunteering and charitable giving. I enjoy life. I'm a pretty happy camper.

But should I find myself in triage with patients younger than I am, I hope I have the courage and mental capacity to say, "Please, treat them first." This boomer would not resent be removed.

I have always told my children that should I fall off a cliff and die while hiking, know that I have gone happy. I can think of no worse fate than being in a nursing home with a couple tubes stuck in me just waiting for the end. I am by no means suicidal - I exercise, watch my weight, try to eat sensibly, and have even been practicing social isolation and hand washing. But I know my end will come.

Life has in no way cheated me. I have loved and been loved, adventured, traveled, worked, won awards, played, served, written, and read enough for three lifetimes. I am grateful that this life has been so generous to me. 

You can remove this boomer should the need arise without guilt. All I ask is that if you get the respirator, make the remainder of your life one of kindness, generosity, and adventure.

Comments

[Kring]

This is such an inspiring and eye-opening article and I certainly hope you won't be placed in a situation like this. You have a pure heart and overflowing kindness, and it is showing. Please don't feel bad about the memes that millennials are making, I am a millennial myself, and some jerks are just insensitive and heartless. I appreciate you for sharing this. All the best~