Carolyn is an 85-year-old retired school teacher living independently in Houston, Texas. She is beginning to need assistance managing her affairs and caring for herself. She’s having problems with bathing, dressing, cooking, getting to doctor appointments, doing her shopping and paying her bills. Her only child, Ralph, lives in Dayton, Ohio. He worries about his mother constantly and wishes he lived closer so he could help her out. He knows he needs to take action; he just doesn’t know what to do.
Martha is another 85-year-old whose needs are different from those of Carolyn. Martha’s memory and mental functioning are declining at an alarming rate, and she’s received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. It’s obvious that she isn’t safe living on her own. Her daughter, Susan, who lives nearby, hired a home-care company to help care for her mother. But Martha hated the arrangement and fired the caregiver the company had sent. Continue reading