I know some people who have attained the age of 90 and even one who is 95. He's practically bed-ridden nowadays. Another one (once an active industrialist and social worker) is also bed-ridden at the age of 85, as he's fallen a few times and broken many bones. I have two cousins older than me (one is 83 and the other 85), both of whom are still healthy (probably because they never had any children). I myself will be 80 in a couple of months and already I feel that living beyond eighty is a chore. Most people I went to school and college with are dead, or living abroad. I don't have many people who I can talk with, and the two or three I do have long conversations with never call me. In fact, sometimes I have the distinct feeling that they're trying to avoid me (like I used to avoid an uncle who would call me and talk for an hour).
A close relative of mine is in intensive care, fighting for survival. He has always been a diabetic, and I'm surprised why he gave up walking. He had suffered a mini-stroke a couple of months back and his doctor had told him to take an anti-coagulant pill. For some reason, maybe due to old age, he stopped taking it and suffered a major stroke that left his right leg and arm paralyzed.
If this is the fate of those who live long, it's better to die in your seventies.
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