IN the years BC (Before Covid), my morning routine was consistent. First, perusal of the paper, starting with the sport followed by the death notices. Continued absence from the latter represented a pretty good start to the day. Omnipresent coronavirus has reversed that order. Now, my first port of call is the ever-expanding family notices. Worryingly, for a man in his eighth decade, the deaths section lengthens daily. Equally concerning, is my proximity to the average age of those whose demise is reported therein.

For many oldies the virus and its consequences have led us to reappraise how, when the time comes, we take our leave. Dealing with one’s own mortality is never an inviting prospect. However, we are wrong to bury, so to speak, our heads or any other parts, in the sand. At the very least we should make our wishes known. In the event of critical illness do we really want intubation or resuscitation? My mother had no doubts. Deciding whether she should or should not receive a life-prolonging, but not life-saving transfusion was never going to be easy. Her certainty that she had suffered enough eased some of the accompanying distress.

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She had long come to terms with her mortality and regularly reminded us that, “no one lives for ever.” And therein lies the problem. Advances in medical science have created an expectation that even if we can’t live for ever, we can live beyond the point when our bodies have worn out. While it might be life, it’s hardly living. Many will have witnessed elderly relatives and friends whose lives may have been extended through medical intervention, but at the cost of further suffering and loss of dignity.

The national strategy for dealing with Covid has promoted fear amongst the elderly. The Prime Minister didn’t help by warning that many will, “lose loved ones before their time.” It’s certainly true too many younger people, including those in the front line, have died. But we oldies don’t want to live out the rest of our lives in fear of something that, in all probability, is just around the corner. After all, in the first three months of 2018, long before anyone had heard of Covid, 331 Scots, most of them over 65, died of respiratory illness.

When it comes to easing the lockdown, there should be no extension of house arrest for the over-70s. Life has meaning only when enjoyed in the company of family and friends, doing the things we love. Most of us have long since accepted there is indeed a time to be born and a time to die and no resuscitation for me. Thanks.

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