Every time I chat with my friends and colleagues who are helping parents navigate through their older elderhood years, one person or another inevitably makes a comment about how easy it is and yes, a bit nerve-wracking, to picture being in the same fragile position as their parents. No one disputes that we all age. … Continue reading
Older Elders and the End of Life
If you are an adult child with ninetysomething parents, you are probably familiar with the drill. Like me you may receive phone calls from an elderly parent a couple of times each week, usually asking a question, describing a problem, or just expressing anxiety. Or you may hear from caregivers about a problem — a … Continue reading
More on Fraudulent Phone Calls and Scams
I do not think a week goes by when one of my elderly parents doesn’t mention a strange phone call. They are always disconcerting and often scary, and older adult are prime targets. An excellent article, Die, Robocalls, Die: A How-to Guide to Stop Spammers and Extract Revenge, appeared this week in the Washington Post. The … Continue reading
Is Forgetting Really Forgetting?
Last summer I went off to part one of my scheduled yearly Medicare Wellness Visit the same morning I had an unscheduled visit to the dentist for an unexpected root canal. At the Primary Care Practice where I go, my physician divides the visit into two parts. The first part was with a physician’s assistant … Continue reading
The Things Not Forgotten: A Road to Elder Loneliness & Isolation
Loss of connections, associations, and skills, that at one time were easy, seems to exacerbate cognitive decline in older elders because many are aware of what is happening. I’ve now closely observed five elderly family members move through late-in-life years, four of them having lived into their 90s with two of them still living. Four … 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
The Courtesy of a Starbucks Barista With an Older Elder
The woman, an older elder, moved slowly with her shopping cart, using it as a support as well as a receptacle for her groceries. She had placed a few things in the cart when she noticed the Starbucks and pushed her cart over to order a cup of coffee. My husband and I were just approaching … Continue reading
Antibiotics and Elders
This article about antibiotics and older adults appeared in the March 15, 2019 New York Times. While these medications cure bacterial infections, many antibiotics cause side effects that can be especially pronounced for older seniors, so they should be prescribed carefully and avoided when possible. The article, written by Paula Spann, interviews geriatric physicians, lists some … Continue reading
Being Retired and Supporting Elderly Parents
At least once a week my day belongs to my mom and dad. We leave our house early and drive the 100 miles to their home. We visit and always have lunch together in their community dining room or at a local restaurant. Sometimes all of us attend a special event in their retirement community. … Continue reading
Dad Just Needed an Old-Fashioned Radio
I wondered whether memories and information about the older model radio, a type that he used many years ago, might be stored in his long-term memory and make a similar radio easy to use. If I was right, he might automatically turn the dial and get his music. Continue reading
FaceTime: I Feel Like I’m Right There Watching Him Grow
The first time I set up a FaceTime call between my parents and their adult granddaughter, I was astonished at just how much my parents, sitting in their apartment, enjoyed just waving and watching, while letting my daughter do all the talking. That was nearly four years ago when my daughter was pregnant and had … Continue reading
Elders’ Tech Skills Require Lots of Practice: 7 Recommendations
So your older aging parent really wants to get going with a digital device? If so, please think carefully about the learning process. In a well-known New York City joke about Carnegie Hall, someone asks a cab driver, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Without missing a beat the answer is “Practice, practice, practice.” This … Continue reading
Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, and the Miracle of Music
We were driving home from a delightful lunch at a Thai restaurant — my husband, me, and my mother and dad. In one of those quirks of the digital age, my iPhone connected with the car’s bluetooth function, and suddenly the car was filled with music. We all hummed along and smiled as Tony Bennett … Continue reading
Every 19 Minutes A Person in the U.S. Dies from a Fall…
Check out Jane Brody’s February 25, 2019 New York Times health column Falls Can Kill You, Here’s How to Minimize the Risk. I’ve already put the most shocking information — a person dying from a fall every 19 minutes — in the title of this post. Brody talks about the dangers of falls for older … Continue reading
Confusion or Delirium in a Hospital or New Living Situation
Several older elders in my family have developed extreme confusion when they in the hospital or emergency room. Here’s what I learned about it. Continue reading
My Parents’ Move to Assisted Living
When my elderly parents, both in their 90s, moved into an assisted living community, the decision process and the move itself were arduous. In their nineties and married for nearly 70 years, they needed more support, although they did not see it that way. It was common for me to discover medicines not taken, mail … Continue reading
I Knew I Was Right to Dispose of Those Powerful Pain Killers
Recently memories about whether or not to use pain medications came flooding back after reading a New York Times article Alternatives to Opioids for Pain Relief. The article described research that compares the effectiveness of opioid and non-opioid medicines. It made me remember just how easily power pain medications have been prescribed. Physicians observed and … Continue reading
Sometimes an Article About Elder Abuse Is Just Plain Horrifying…
If you are supporting elder parents or expect to be involved with their assistance in the future, take some time to read the New Yorker article, How the Elderly Lose Their Rights. The long story, by Rachel Aviv, describes the abuses that can occur when unscrupulous people seek the guardianship of elders. It focuses on … Continue reading
Prepare Elderly Parents for Their New Medicare Cards
If you are an individual who focuses on personal data security, one of the most surprising things you discover when it’s time to offer support to aging parents is that Social Security numbers appear right on the front of the Medicare card. Americans are told not to carry their Social Security cards around, but once they … Continue reading
Plan to Help Elderly Parents Set Up Electronic Medical Records
If you assist or provide support for an older elder in your family, check to see whether you need to help out with that individual’s electronic medical records (EMRs). You may have routinely set up your own EMRs without much thought, but many elder adults have not established or have had difficulty establishing their accounts. … Continue reading
