IS OLD AGE A CURSE ?

I did my studies in psychiatric nursing, and right now I am working with old people who are suffering from a disease called DEMENTIA.
Dementia: "Deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain. It is sometimes accompanied by emotional disturbance and personality changes. " http://www.alzheimers.org.au/content.cfm?infopageid=379&CFID=2217592&CFTOKEN=86869583#wh
i have been raise in a culture where we have learned to respect our parents and take care of them, whole life we live together and have a strong parents-children bond, but here in western countries the life is so busy that neither parents nor children get time for each other .No wonder why I am so scared of being old , have seen many bitter facts during my study life and even now everyday I face these bitter facts.
I have a patient named Odvar Lind , he is 72 yrs old , his wife died of cancer many yrs back and left him and his son alone , due to lack of care his son went on drugs and this old man became alcoholic , and the result he started losing his memory , liver function decreased , and started having brain disorders ,epilepsy falls etc .. He ended into my ward, he is so sensitive man, he can’t speak, he lost his talking power & when he talks all we hear is blabbering.
There is a lady named Othilia , she is 98 yrs old & suffering from Alzheimer’s Dementia, she had 3 daughters n 2 sons . Poor lady , she is here from 3 yrs now ,& her children visit her 2 or 3 times in a yr, according to her personal history, she was a widow & raised her children all alone , she was a wonderful mother , but what she got in return ???
when ever I get chance I use to sit with them , talk to them , share their feelings , ask them questions , they r like some mines .... The deeper u dig the more u gets.They r just normal human beings as we r but the only difference is that they lost their memory due to various circumstances or disorders or due to genetic heritage. I literally cry sometimes when they so innocently come & ask questions like:-
When is my wife coming to visit me??
Is my son here or he will come later??
Where is my mom?
Can I go to my mom?
When can I go home?
Can u help me??
These are some common questions asked by them, & they ask these questions various times a day .......... they don’t even remember that they asked the same Q just few seconds be4. No matter they don’t remember anything happened recently but still they remember their family n all loving ones & miss them .At a point when they cant bear missing them , they start acting crazy , get aggressive ,just for attention seeking.
Are we so busy that we cant even spent 1 day in a month with our parents , they showed us this world, they thought us how to live , how to smile , eat, earn , guided us to the right path of living. I just wonder sometimes, should one be happy that he/she getting older ... going from 1 generation to another ... watching his/her arms growing n spreading OR get scared of being old like ME.
Is old age a curse or it’s a wonderful stage of life???
i never got the right answer to this question ....................
.......................... st000nie...............................