My brothers and I continue to “help” our aging mother. Many of you have followed our journey and know that we have been doing our best to wrestle with the senior issues.
Her house is clean. . .more than not. She does her best, and has help three days a week. Mom eats really well. . .when one of us is there. She interacts with us when we visit. She’s trying to maintain her life style, but her frailty shows through.
With each passing week, each passing month, we see that her need for our assistance grows. We see Mom, the frail woman who needs our help. We also see Mom, the same one who made sure we had a lunch packed, taught us how to tie our shoes. So how do we insist on providing the next level of assistance?
Lately, the issue is falling. She can tell you that her arm really hurts, but she can’t explain her black eye or remember when she last fell.
We convinced her several years ago to wear a Medic Alert. Her shaky gait is made worse by her refusal to use a walker. Living in a split-level house adds more obstacles.
What we don’t want is to wait for a serious fall and then have to make an “emergency” decision on where Mom has to go. Our journey is being aided by her physician who is ‘ordering’ an assessment of her house by an outside agency. The doctor is concerned that her house is not suitable for her, i.e., too dangerous.
We’ll see what the future holds. My brothers and I are doing our best to allow her to live out her days in her own home. That door, however, may be closing. . .
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