Sustaining Elder Care – March 2025

The fragile consensus between my father’s 4 daughters has deteriorated over the past month. The combination of his Covid week in February and the reduction of physical activity that often happens in the winter has caused a decline in his physical condition. His doctor noticed the delta before and after Covid – setting up a round of physical therapy to help him recover. Tensions became high when the PT person asked about one of the drugs he was on. Two of the 4 daughters apparently forgot when and why the decision was made re the drug and highly emotional conversations ensued. The food the assisted living residence provides was a hot topic again too. It was stressful to all and is not resolved except that we are all trying to do the best we can for our father….and hoping we keep him comfortable even while we are struggling emotionally behind the scenes.

WIt is stressful to have a parent that cannot always make his wishes known or care for himself. We have delegated his baseline day to day care to the assisted living residence, but my sisters and I can strive to provide some ‘extras’ – activities we can enjoy with him like taking a short walk, working on a puzzle, and getting a vegetable garden started. I found 2 more 300-piece puzzles when I volunteered at my local library; I’ll take them next time I go to Dallas.