Realizing You Can't Do It Yourself

I think one of the hardest things for all of us is realizing we can't handle all the care for mom or dad anymore. If we are caring for grandma or another loved one we keep thinking we can do it a little longer. My neighbor is an elderly women who we will call Sue who gets around with a walker and lives with her friend who cares for her daily. The friend is older as well and has started having back issues. She has trouble lifting Sue who often slides out of her chair or trips on things. Yesterday she called me to come over and help lift Sue back into the chair.

I was able to help her with that and after I did she hugged me. She said thank you so much for helping us. We did not want to call an ambulance again just to pick her up. I asked her if she had thought about getting some additional help during the day. She said she knew she might have to but seemed to have a hard time with the realization.

I explained to her how much she was doing and how difficult that is for anyone but especially someone with back issues who is also getting older.

One thing I did notice while I was there is that they had several rugs lining the wood floor and that was what her walker wheel had gotten caught on causing her to fall. She talked about getting those rolled up and out of the way. She said she had never even thought about that being a problem.

As people get older everyday things often need to be adjusted for safety and easier access. Please take a look at the printables page of the website and review the home safety checklist for seniors. It has some things to consider you may not have thought about yet.