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Be Not Afraid CaringGiven the challenges that arise in such situations,it is easy to see why families who start out caring forsomeone at home often end up turning to a nursinghome or hospice. That is nothing to be ashamed of:anyone who has cared for someone with a chroniccondition knows that eventually it takes a toll. Yetjust as the most menial chore can become a privilege,if performed with love, so too, a difficult decision canbe made bearable if it is made with compassion andsensitivity.Tragically, both are often lacking, or present onlyin words, and the result is that many elderly peoplefeel unwanted and abandoned. Is it any wonder thatlarge numbers feel they are a burden on their families;that many who retire soon tire of living, and that itis no longer taboo, but commonplace, to speak of aterminally ill person’s “right” to die? How many peoplewould fight for such a thing, if they were guaranteed aright to decent end-of-life care – a right to be loved?An article recently sent to me from England quotes adoctor who excused himself from charges of physicianassistedsuicide by claiming, “It could have takenanother week before she died, and I needed the bed.” Inthis country, too, such incidents are no longer unheardof. This is especially tragic when one considers howmuch every elderly person has to give, no matter howfrail, incapacitated, or disoriented he is. Even a senile16