Filed under elders and cars …

The Car, My Elderly Parents, and Me

After living happily in their retirement community for nearly fifteen years, my parents were declining. My dad’s memory was weak, and my mom fell frequently. In their nineties, they ate almost every meal in one of the cafes and gradually ceased to use the various gadgets in their lives —the dishwasher, the c-pap mask, the humidifier, etc. Using … Continue reading →

Hospital Induced Delirium: Be Concerned​

If you are still not concerned about and prepared for the possibility of an older member of your family going to the hospital feeling confident and competent and leaving in a confused, befuddled, and yes, even deranged state, you need to read Harrowing Delirium Afflicts Millions After Surgery, Especially the Elderly. I Know. It Hit … Continue reading →

The Increasing Cost of Assisted Living

An interesting article, Why Aging Middle-class People Can’t Afford Assisted Living, recently appeared at Philly.com, the online site of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Writer Stacey Burling describes research published by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a project that examined the future challenges of paying for the costs of assisted living, especially for … Continue reading →

Older Elders, Adult Children & THE CAR

At what point do you encourage or insist that parents in their late 80s and early 90s stop driving? Every adult child speaks quietly and with angst about this aging parent car conundrum. Almost no one is satisfied with the end result. It seems to be a painful, no-win dilemma in just about every family. More … Continue reading →