Assisted Living Shouldn ’t Mean Losing Independence

Photo credit Nashwin Vaswani Dear Carol: My mom, 78, has some physical disabilities because of severe arthritis. Even so, she’s fully able to manage the two medications that she takes. She can also fix the simple meals that she enjoys and entertain herself with music, TV, and reading. She needs some assistance, but we’re skeptical of assisted living because her friend, also well able to take care of her immediate needs, got burned. This friend liked living in her apartment except that the facility mandated taking over her medications and that she attend a certain number of meals. Their rules made her angry and miserable. I understand that facilities have rules, but this seems inflexible. Mom’s always found being around a lot of people stressful. She needs help with showering as well as cleaning, but she won’t even try assisted living because of her friend’s experience. How do we help her stay safe but not take away her independence? – MS Continue on Inforum to learn more about the problem of finding needed help without losing independence: Support a caregiver or jump-start discussion in support groups with real stories - for bulk orders of Minding Our Elders e-mail Carol                  Related StoriesThanks to Pharmacist Who Alerted This Family To Possible ComplicationsEnd-Of-Life Comfort Drugs Can Be ConfusingVerbal Abuse Stemming from Dementia Tough On Caregivers ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: blogs