Page 32 - Aging Parents - FDCCPublications

PATIENCE, PLANNING AND SUPPORT: REFLECTIONS ON DEALING WITH AGING FAMILY MEMBERS
minutes from me and about 20 minutes from one of my brothers. My other three siblings live many hours away, leaving my brother and me, and more often our wives, as the principal caregivers in my mom’s life.
At 88, her eyesight and hearing are quite impressive. If
my mom uses reading glasses, I have never seen them,
even when reading a text from her iPhone. Sometimes, she will even hear me whispering about her, to which she will respond, “Dave, you better stop it. Remember, I brought you into this world.”
We live in a relatively small town. It’s not uncommon for someone to come up to my wife or me and tell us that they have met my mom. Other than my initial worry about what wild story she has told, I find myself increasingly concerned about the fact that she has been driving.
Maybe it is the proximity, our sharing the streets in our small town, or being a lawyer who is all too familiar with what can happen in a disastrous accident. Still, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to address the issue of her driving.
More than once, my mom has sent me a message asking me about an iPhone feature, such as how to turn off her flashlight or clear a notification. After exchanging a few messages instructing her on fixing her issues, I think the problem was fixed until a couple of minutes later when I received a new text: “I will go to Verizon and ask. Be safe.”
The exchange causes me stress because it is another unnecessary trip in the car.
I picture her petite 5-foot, 3-inch body peering over the steering wheel while unnecessarily driving to the Verizon store, and it fills me with dread. The route involves several
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