An interesting question
Sharmila and I took a final beach walk this morning before heading back to the US. During our walk, we met another local couple. He is from here and she is from Canada.
Sharmila explained to them how I am interested in settling in a place like this. But she was worried of important things like medical support.
Remember Trisha from earlier posts? Yeah, she had to go to Nassau to give birth to her baby. No hospitals here.
The couple tried to calm us down by saying that in case of an emergency, we will be airlifted and in an hospital in Nassau within 35 minutes.
As Sharmila and they kept talking, I withdrew. Pondering over a question that seemed more important to me…
“Is the idea to live where we push death to a later death or is the idea to truly live a better life before we die (whenever that is)?”
What do you think?
To get an answer to your question at the end (important one indeed), read Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal. I am an admirer of his writing and the topics/themes he writes on. Have all his books, even gifted one to Pratyush’s son who was at the time studying to be a doctor.
Thanks for the recommendation
The other book you must read is Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air. A brilliant neurosurgeon, Paul won all accolades to start on what would have been a trailblazing career but cancer gets him. He dies at 37/39. It’s a literary book unlike the other one. Slim book. His outlook on life when he is at the door of death will answer your question to a large extent. If not, buy it for sheer prose. I cannot recommend it enough. Indian-American doctors are among the medical non fiction writers in the world.
I know Sharmila read it and recommended it too!