Summer is usually a lot of fun in our homes. The elderly enjoy getting outdoors for picnics, gardening, and community outings, especially when they include a stop for ice cream.
Tag: elderly
Let’s encourage the elders in our Church
Last summer, I participated in the Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Orlando, Fla. The purpose of this large, unprecedented encounter between U.S. bishops and laity was to study what Pope Francis has termed the “new peripheries” and to form missionary disciples.
Checking on parents during extended holiday visit
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Q My husband and I are traveling to his parents’ home for the Christmas holiday. We are not sure what to expect. His parents are both in their mid-80s and we have not seen them for several months as we live on the East Coast.
My husband is an only child so we rely mostly on phone calls with his parents to inform us of their well-being. Each time we speak they assure us they are fine but it seems that our conversations have become less detailed. We have also noticed that they often repeat the same information during our conversations.
Sharing God’s mercy this Christmas with grandparents
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| Sr. Constance Veit, LSP |
In the past few weeks I’ve been asked to speak about loneliness in the elderly on numerous occasions.
I was even quoted in a recent article by Catholic journalist Mary Rezac, entitled “Our Elders Are Lonely — Do We Care?” As we look forward to Christmas, let’s hope we can all say, “Of course we do!”
Family should be given opportunity to help
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Q My father-in-law recently experienced some health concerns.
As a family member I wanted to offer support and assist in any way I could. I offered to sit with my mother-in-law as she spent endless hours in the hospital, bring a meal over, or help with some chores around the house.
It is not that my offers were ignored, my mother-in-law just politely said, “Thank you so much for the offer, but I am fine.”
Remember the elderly in the autumn of their lives
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October 1 is International Day of Older Persons as declared by the United Nations.
It is appropriate to celebrate this day during the fall of the year in order to focus upon the elderly’s autumn blessings and needs. An elderly Italian couple reminded me of this recently.
Visiting the elderly
On August 9, 2016, in Rome, Italy, four policemen visited the home of Michele, a 94-year-old man and Jole, his 89-year-old wife.
After 70 years of marriage, they still loved each other, but they were suffering from the cross of loneliness, partially because their neighbors were vacationing and also because of upsetting TV reports about terrorists’ attacks and abused children.
Support for an elderly parent living alone
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Q My siblings and I are working together to help my father who is in his 80s and living in the family home.
We have decided to do as much as we can to help him live out his years in the home he loves. The issue is that we are now four months into this and we are having some major disagreements about what it means to support him.
Keeping elders socially connected is a Work of Mercy
During a recent family reunion, my elderly mother and I were the only ones at the table without smartphones. We felt left out.
A few days later I read that Pope Francis advised parents to ban mobile devices from the dinner table to help restore the quality of family relationships.
These two occurrences reminded me of the life of our foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan.
Navigating a complicated health system
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Q I am trying to be an advocate for my mother who has some health issues and I feel as though we are getting lost in this complicated health care system.
I have permission to be with her during the frequent visits to the numerous specialists she must see. It seems when I bring up a concern, all we get is another series of tests, a trial for a different medication, or a referral to yet another specialist.
My mother does not want to keep seeing new physicians and repeating the same information all over again. She does not understand all of this “fussing” and would just like to be comfortable.
Advising senior parents about housing decisions
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Question: I think this may have come up before, but I am wondering if there are some guidelines for choosing where to move when being at home is no longer an option.
My father is ready to move out of the family home. He admits he cannot keep up with maintenance and chores and since my mother passed away, he feels he is just occupying an empty space.
My siblings and I are so grateful he feels this way and want to support him as best we can. He does have some health issues and we have wondered if he is depressed or if he might have some memory issues because of some things he has been forgetting.