Taking Care of the Elderly

The girls and I help take care of the elderly. In this case, it means taking care of my parents. Mom and Dad are not decrepit and hunched over, and are doing better than 90% of others their age, but they are still getting more fragile each day.

I am thankful that they are able to do so much on their own in their early eighties. They still work on their own home, do their own lawn work and run their own errands. Unfortunately, the dark side of turning older is creeping in on them.

Mom has fallen down three times (that I know of). I'm not talking about falling on her bottom. I'm talking about falling and landing on her knee replacement and finishing off with a face-plant and busting her nose and can't lift herself backup. Dad loses his balance easily now and has fallen once or twice himself. Dad's diabetes makes it so that he can't rotate or lift his right foot so he can't drive, which is killing him. Dad's bout with cancer and diabetes weakened him considerably, but he still charges on.

The latest round is Mom getting sick with a cold. Mom has low lung capacity and gets bronchitis very easily, and she can't afford to be around anyone who is even suspect of being sick or she gets it. Every cold is devastating to her. She did indeed get sick again, but insisted on taking herself to the doctor yesterday. She got medication to help her, and is still doing poorly, but insists on taking Dad to his appointment today. Originally I was going to take Dad to his appointment in Franklin and Amy was going to drive him home.

It is hard taking care of elderly parents, especially when there are so few other people who can or are willing help for reasons unknown to me. It is difficult in the best of circumstances for Mom and Dad to do everything on their own, and when Mom gets sick, then they are both housebound. They need help at this point in their lives, not extra burdens.

In this, the girls are learning compassion. The girls are learning to help others, even if it is hard to fit it in our schedule. The girls are learning that helping someone else doesn't need to be be paid in anything other than good feelings. The girls are learning to be considerate of others.

My parents help me out anytime I ask. Now it's my turn to return the favor, even when the help isn't asked for, and teach my girls to do the same.