I’ve updated our website to add information on addressing the need of long term care for a family member. I think you will find the information very helpful whether you are first addressing the need for long term care for a spouse or parent, or whether you have been dealing with the problem for years and change is needed.
From what I have seen both professionally and personally, the aging process comes as a surprise to most of us. Sure, we KNOW about aging, right? We have had grandparents and they got older and some died too. But, the surprise is that while we know people age, until it strikes us at our late age we think that it’s all just “numbers on the calendar.” As we age, we find out that against our will our bodies will not do what we demand. It is in this awareness of the realities of aging that long term care becomes a fact. Very few people in their 80’s can do what they did just after retirement. Aging happens that fast.
Our minds may be “forever young” but our bodies have a mind of their own!
This surprise of aging is what makes it so hard for children to accept the fact that parents need their help on a weekly if not daily basis and will continue to need that help for the rest of their lives. And, this surprise is what makes it hard for people to confront the need to deal with long term care early on.
I hope our Long Term Care Section will make it easier and possible for families to successfully deal with the complete needs of the family member who needs the care.
Our first section is on The Seven Common Mistakes