Old age is not curable

Health & Fitness
I do not want to be subjected to what my grandmother is going through. If she was still in control of her own life she would tell people to leave her alone to live the remaining years of her life in peace. Our roads are bumpy and not the nicest of roads to be carted around all in the hope that a doctor in Harare will find a cure for old age.

What my grandmother needs is to have her limbs massaged to improve her circulation and stop her muscles from atrophying. She needs to be kept warm when it is cold and to be taken outside just to see some plant life. We got her a wheelchair for easier mobility but she has rarely used it.

My grandmother has buried all her siblings, friends and most of her children. When she hears about a death of a relative she weeps like a child and asks why she is still alive. We feel blessed that we have been able to share our lives with her but now when we visit you cannot help but feel really sorry for her.

I am grateful that we have people who take care of her but my heart breaks when she speaks longingly of dying. No one should ever have to wish for the one thing we are all scared of — death.

I do not want to live so long that I wish I could just die. If I get too sick I also do not want to be kept unnecessarily alive. If my immediate family will not do it I will get people who can legally break the life contract between God and me. I know some of you will say its wrong but there are so many wrong things about having to rely on other people for even such an intimate thing as relieving yourself. I want to die with dignity.

Feedback: [email protected] Follow Grace Mutandwa on Twitter.