Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I'm 64?

by Vickie Penninger

Our parents and grandparents are approaching an age when their health may begin to decline. We, as responsible, intelligent children, must become knowledgeable of alternative and complementary methods of healing and encourage our loved ones to use them, as the benefits are numerous.

First of all, they work. So many people seek out alternative modalities because they have been to all the doctors, tried all the prescriptions, done all the surgeries and they are still sick. High tech, high cost care can be invasive or have terrible side effects that are as bad or worse than the disease that is being treated. Energy medicine and other modalities are often a last effort to regain health. Often they are successful because they are very powerful, yet subtle, often with no side effects.

Secondly, energy medicine and other complementary methods of healing are much less expensive. Imagine the thousands of dollars that could be saved if it were routine for the medical profession to prescribe energy work at the beginning of a decline in health. Energy work is a wonderful preventative and can help to keep us all healthy so that we go into our 70s and 80s in good health, rather than with compromised health. When you get older, you don't want to think about dying, you want to think about optimal living. Every day of good health is viewed as a gift and deeply appreciated. Elderly who are healthy are able to remain at home, rather than going into long-term care, which can cost as much as $4,600 per month. Good long-term care can be provided in facilities, but so can less-than-quality care. Older adults maintain their physical and mental well being longer when they are living in their own homes receiving the care they need. Less expensive complementary methods of healing can help make this so. Healthy aging is a reality; we must only accept it and act on it as so.

Thirdly, energy based healing modalities such as Reiki and Healing Touch are very useful to persons who are near death. They can assist with the transition of the soul from the physical body to the spiritual. These modalities can assist in the release of fear of the unknown, and can provide relaxation and an ability to accept death. Enlightenment may occur as one is helped to see connections with life events and insights into relationships. Courage is suddenly present which allows the dying person to say things that need to be said to the living. Recently, a dear friend and fellow Reiki Master assisted her mother in her transition, which was imminent. Her mother was semi-comatose, but my friend was sure that she was aware of her presence. Her agitation subsided and a peaceful calm came over her as her daughter poured forth the unconditional energy of love known as Reiki. She peacefully slipped away. My friend had been given the emotional strength to carry through with this by receiving Reiki herself the day prior.

Assisting in this process is healing to the entire family and can be a profound spiritual experience for everyone involved, including the practitioner offering the service. Death is, after all, a holistic experience involving the bodies, minds, and spirits of all who have contact with the dying person. What an honor it is if we, the living, can comfort and support the dying person, easing them with dignity into the next world.

No one person can be totally responsible for the care of an elderly person. It is the responsibility of each of us to see that all elderly receive good, appropriate care and are able to die with ease and dignity. We must partner with major corporations who own long-term care communities, the administrators and line staff of these communities, social workers, monitors, medical providers (both complementary and allopathic), the faith community, volunteers, home health providers, families, professional advocates, and the elderly themselves to assure that our elders receive the kind of care they deserve and which we ourselves would like to receive if ever in their places. Each one of us shares in this responsibility. It is a community concern. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, so it takes a village to care for the elderly.

The many life experiences of the elderly provide a wealth of knowledge; we can learn so much from them. They are our precious history. They are we and we are they.

Vickie Penninger has worked with the elderly for 29 years and is currently a geriatric social worker with Wake County who monitors adult care homes for compliance with State standards. Vickie is also a Reiki Master/Teacher and Healing Touch Practitioner, teaching all levels of Reiki. E-mail vickpenn@bellsouth.net, call 919-828-0876, or visit her website, www.TheReikiChannel.com.