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Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™
April 15, 2006
Aging in Place:
It's More Than A Buzzword
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We do it for our children without even giving
it much thought. When a new baby arrives (even long before a
baby arrives) we spend months getting our home ready. We buy
a special bed, we "safety proof" the cabinets and the
outlets, we buy monitors. We try to keep the environment
safe for the developmental stage of the child, making
changes as he grows.
First we worry about how clean the floor
is, then we put the plants and the breakable items up high.
Before we know it, the whole house has been modified in one
way or another.
Then when the children are older we stop thinking about it
and the house slowly reverts to "grown-up."
But our physical abilities don't stop changing as we mature.
Sure, they'll stay more or less the same for several decades
if we're lucky. But then, inevitably, we'll begin to notice
a little twinge here or there. Our balance won't be quite as
good as it once was. We may need a bit more light to see
what we're reading (if our arms are long enough to see it at
all).
And bit by bit, the house we call home isn't quite as
user-friendly as it once was.
Just about every older person I've ever talked with wants to
stay at home. And for most, staying at home can be the most
economical choice, too.
Assisted living can cost $3,000 to upwards
of $6,000 a month, depending on the part of the country you
live in. Nursing homes are a whole lot more expensive. If
you invest less than the cost of one month of assisted
living you can possibly buy extra months or years of living
at home.
Every now and then over the next several months I plan to
address some of the simple changes you can make to a home to
keep it senior-friendly and safe. Bathroom safety and
getting the throw rugs up have been talked to death, so I
will leave those alone for the time being. There are so many
other things you can do that don't cost a fortune and will
add an amazing amount of comfort and safety to a home.
Today's Topic is...
Electricity
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Isn't running the vacuum fun? You just get up a good head of
steam and you run out of cord. So you give the cord a good
yank to pull it out of the wall outlet (you know you
do...even though you know you're not supposed to) and you
stoop down to plug it in to another outlet. And you do this
three or four times to get around the area you're trying to
clean.
Whoever decided that wall outlets should be four inches off
the floor must have been either a midget or a kid, since they're the only ones
who can reach them without a struggle. And we know about
kids and outlets - we spent a lot of time and aggravation
child-proofing them, didn't we?
If you're having some pain in your hips or back, or your
balance isn't what it was, stooping down to those outlets is
painful or even dangerous. Imagine how much easier it would
be to plug and unplug things if the outlets were at waist level or
higher. Just think, you could move a lamp over to that
bookcase without having to take out all the books to get at
the plug. The possibilities are endless.
A good electrician can add waist-level outlets to a home at
a very reasonable cost. You don't have to remove the outlets
that are already there - just tap into them and add new ones
at 30 to 40 inches from the floor, depending on how tall you
are. Put them in all the rooms, and put in a couple more
than you think you need. They'll get used.
And while the electrician is at it, have him put rocker
switches on the walls instead of those little on/off
flippers. It's a lot easier to hit a rocker switch than that
little flipper thing. And if he's already in the wall
installing a rocker switch, have him put in a plug outlet
below it at the same time. You can never have too many
places to plug things in.
Do this before you need to. Once someone has fallen or had a
back go out reaching down to the floor, home will never feel
as safe again.
| By failing to prepare, you
are preparing to fail.
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Often people with ailments like
Parkinson's Disease or one of the many dementias get
to the point where they have trouble using utensils to
eat. Rather than trying to remind them or help them
use a spoon or a fork, try finger foods. It's much less
frustrating for everyone.
Try chicken fingers, cubed beef or ham, sandwiches cut in
quarters or bite size, cheese cubes, oven baked french fries
or hush puppies, cooled steamed vegetables, etc. One
or two pieces of dried fruit can give a real taste explosion
and perk up appetites, too. Just never more than one or two
pieces or you may be sorry.
| Kids' Letters to God:
Dear God,
I am doing the best I can.
Really!!!!
Frank
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