DON'T GIVE UP ON AN AGING PARENT

by Lawrence Galton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 1974

Not only golden threads among the silver -- but a highly to overly sanguine overview of what can and should be done for the old (here 65 seems to be the general cut-off; five percent are in institutions and shouldn't be). A 101-year-old man was given a pacemaker and proceeded to get married; almost everything, it seems, is correctable -- hypertension, arthritis, depression (like Nathan Kline, Galton is for more active intervention on the part of the G.P.) and senility, which he contends can often be reversed by thinning the blood. Not all the figures are in, let alone given, but Galton makes a quick trip of experimental therapies or even last-stand ones (if drugs don't work, why not electro-shock), gives a guided tour of expected impairments, knuckle-raps the medical profession for general ""condescension medicine"" or sheer laziness, and brightens the future in general with the thought that both judgment and intellect improve with age while cancer slows down. Diet and exercise are important but for the most part Galton skimps on the psychosocial factors. As for the last stop, the nursing home, think of alternatives -- day care centers, homemaker programs -- if you can find them. Also remember that Galton is not talking about the really aged person who needs total care. . . . Don't argue with possibilities -- but don't expect quite as much as Galton promises.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION