The death industry

Why can't more of us find it in our hearts to look after our parents and grandparents in our own homes, and spare them from those who profit off death and decay?

A nursing home corridor.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)

Two weeks ago, millions of Americans mourned the death of Barbara Bush, one of our greatest first ladies and an exemplar of virtues this country has lost or forgotten. Mrs. Bush spent her last day of terrestrial existence being held by her husband of some 73 years and drinking bourbon. Not very long before, a near-contemporary of hers, a former model named Rebecca Zeni, died in rather different circumstances at a nursing home in Georgia, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Parasitic mites had burrowed under her skin, living and laying eggs all over her body. By the time she died, vesicles and thick crusts had formed on her skin. Her right hand had turned nearly black, and … her fingers were about to fall off.The scabies that infected Zeni's body had become so severe that bacteria seeped into her bloodstream. [The Washington Post]

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.