Thursday, September 1, 2016

sadly, things are not going well...

...for the auntie in Valdosta. She appears to have reached the tipping point the nieces have been anticipating and dreading. There have been several reports with people calling in to family services about her scare-y driving. Now she has had a couple of falls in her home. One a week ago, in the yard, with busted brow requiring a trip to the ER, and several stitches above her eye. 

And another fall this past weekend, when EMS was called. She has been in the hospital since Sunday night, and will be transferred to a rehab facility when discharged. It is probably fortuitous that she has had both hips replaced with artificial joints over the past decade, or we would be dealing with a broken hip and a long recovery, learning how to walk again. Which, in the elderly,  is often the beginning of the end who often do not fully regain mobility or recover completely from the surgical repair.

There are a couple of small fractures, so there will be a gradual process of putting weight on the injured leg, with hope that healing will occur in time. She is already getting some therapy in the hospital, with the assistance of a rehab specialist and a wheeled walker.  The worst part is that she seems to be seriously confused, disoriented and often agitated. Even more than usual, and 'usual' is pretty daunting.

Sad for her, and frustrating too. For all the people who have tried to talk to her and get some understanding about what she would choose for herself if the time should come when she cannot live alone. That 'time'  is upon us, and she has not been willing to have a conversation with the family members who will be responsible for making decisions.

So I guess this is a cautionary tale: Go ahead and talk about the future: Possibilities, options, choices.  Decisions about the stuff none of us want to admit will happen, and do not want to discuss with the people who will be left to sort it all out. I've been threatening for some time to compose my own obituary. I think it is High Time.


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