“Our most cruel failure in how we treat the sick and the aged is the failure to recognize that they have priorities beyond merely being safe and living longer; that the chance to shape one’s story is essential to sustaining meaning in life.”
— Dr. Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Why This Quote Matters
Dr. Gawande’s insight shifts the perspective of caregiving from a “burden of tasks” to a “duty of dignity.” He argues that when we take care of our parents, our primary job is not just to be their “guardians” or “medication managers,” but to be the protectors of their autonomy.
Furthermore…
Quran (Al-Isra 17:23-24): “Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. If one or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them a word of disrespect, or scold them, but say a generous word to them. And act humbly to them in mercy, and say, ‘My Lord, have mercy on them, since they cared for me when I was small’”
Dr. Ameen, ENT Specialist in Kuala Lumpur 
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