And yet, what can seem intolerable to the observer is often counted as life worth living by the elderly. Mrs Liang did not suddenly wake up old one day; she arrived here via a long and gradual journey of stepwise dwindling, occasional partial recoveries, intermittent thrusts of illness and parries of treatment. She and I observe her situation from entirely different vantage points, and it is her interpretation that counts. As I spend more time with elderly people, I am learning not to make assumptions.
