AGING PARENTS HAVE HEALTH DIRECTIVES (Health Care Proxy, DNR etc.) NOW WHAT?

Much time, thought, and energy--under the best of circumstances--go into planning end-of-life directives. In the olden days this no doubt consisted primarily of a will. Today, in our more complex society, additional important aspects of estate planning impact not only who is beneficiary of our worldly goods after death, but--on earth-- our very life itself.

We never know when something serious could happen that sends us to the hospital; and I doubt any of us keep advance directives in our purses, wallets, or smartphones. Thus, this New Old Age column (which instructs us to give copies to our primary care doctor, "health care decision-makers" and keep copies for ourselves) is worth the quick read. 

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AGING PARENTS: PRELUDE TO HALLOWEEN

.............My elderly friend loved them and remembered they would last, no doubt until Halloween. Her caregiver kept telling me how much he loved helping and spent a while taking pictures with his cell phone. Bottom line: It's always rewarding to do something that makes an older person happy. This was a win, win, win-- for my elderly friend, her caregiver, and me.

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HELP AGING PARENTS: WHAT'S ALIVE, LIFE-AFFIRMING, AND NEEDS LITTLE CARE

....a leafy houseplant

While giving aging parents and older people an easy-care house plant isn't Horticulture Therapy, precisely as it would be offered in a care facility, some of the same benefits apply....

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PERFECT OCTOBER GIFT FOR AGING PARENTS: AN EASY CARE PLANT

October. Days shorten. Get colder. Leaves fall. We spend more time indoors, less time with nature.

Isn’t it a perfect time to give an easy-to-care-for plant to an older person? Even more perfect if doing so helps raise the spirits of those we care about–those living alone, in assisted living or care facilities, even those with no “green thumb.”

Here’s a short list of plants that can take neglect and still perform. Indeed they ask nothing more than regular watering and filtered sun or low light. To begin--flowering house plants.

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VELCRO-part 2: ENHANCING SHOES FOR AGING PARENTS

Not all shoe styles with Velcro are suitable for old people. Yet some styles fulfill a need. Think: one foot wider than the other; arthritic or old fingers that make tying laces and manipulating buckles difficult.

As people age, feet can widen and/or develop bunions, hammer toes or other problems that cause one foot to fit better in another size--or width--shoe. This is where Velcro comes to the rescue.

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VELCRO-- FOR AGING FASHIONISTAS AND THOSE WITH OLD FINGERS

Sr. Advisor R, during the week between her 100th birthday and her party the next weekend, couldn't help giving me more advice when she proclaimed: "VELCRO" in much the same way as I remember "PLASTICS" in the 1960's classic movie, "The Graduate."

I didn't realize the implications Velcro has for looking good and feeling better, but R made me aware.

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HOSPITALIZATION TIPS THAT LEAD TO BETTER OUTCOMES: FOR AGING PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, OUR CHILDREN, AND US

We learn from people's--and our--mistakes.  It's especially important to be up on the learning curve, and avoid mistakes, if we're in a hospital. A sobering chain of events calls attention to:

1. a slogan
2. advice, gained from Dr.Susan Love's (surgeon and prominent breast cancer prevention advocate) hospital experience, about the importance of family.
3. information from Jon La Pook, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia U. Medical Center and Chief Medical Correspondent for CBS News) about how to get optimal hospital care.

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