Long Term Care and the Elderly

Long term care is sometimes inevitable in the elderly. Making preparation before that time arrives is not always thought about by those who end up needing it. This can be stressful for the elderly and their family members because there are so many decisions to make such as how to pay for care and where will this care take place. Paying for long term care is expensive but there are many options to consider. Some options are purchasing insurance, paying out of pocket, reverse mortgage, PACE, or Medicaid(have to be eligible). When deciding where care will take place ,the elderly and family members have a choice of nursing home or home care. Making that decision can be tough on family members. Planning for the future and exploring options has one gets older is always the best thing to do especially thinking about the possibilities of long term care. This will make it easier and less stressful for everyone when that time comes.

Wildcard

Living a healthy lifestyle which includes eating a proper diet and exercising is essential for everyone but is even more important as one gets older. As one gets older the chances of developing a chronic illness increases. There are many elderly people who suffer or die from a variety of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancers, and kidney diseases. One of my uncle over the age of 65 years old who lives in Jamaica had a stroke about two weeks ago which left him paralyzed on one side. The stroke was caused from his blood pressure being really high. Practicing healthy habits could have possibly prevented him from having this stroke. Chronic illnesses can be reduced greatly or prevented by making better health choices.

Eating a variety of healthy foods which includes fruits and vegetables, drinking alot of water, limiting the amount of fats, sugars and salt intake and exercising daily for at least 30 minutes daily is necessary in preventing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes which are linked to the causes of some of the chronic illnesses that exist in the elderly. Since my uncles stroke two weeks ago, I have been really taking notice of what my parents eat and their physical activities. My dad is over 65 and my mom is almost in her 60's. I would like to have my parents around for as long as possible. My mom and I have decided to start working out together 2-3 days a week. My dad is thinking about joining a gym. An healthy lifestyle is not just for the young but also for the old and can greatly reduce the amount of chronic illnesses that exist in the elderly.

Elder Drivers

According to the statement made in Health In The Later Years book, "The leading cause of accidental deaths among people between 65 to 74 years old are motor vehicles and it is also the second leading cause of death for those who are over 75." There are many people who feel that the elderly are bad drivers and should be required to take a driving test once they reach a certain age. The question of whether Florida should adopt a mandatory testing of drivers over the age of 65 is debatable for me. Although there are some elderly people that are bad drivers and are more accident prone, I do not think it is fair to require all people over 65 to take a driving test because there are also people young to middle-aged that have caused a good majority of fatal accidents not only to happen to others but also themselves. I feel that the testing should be done based on individual circumstances because there are quite a few older people that are still very alert, safe, and excellent drivers. My dad is 68 years old and is still alert with good reaction time when driving. Just recently, he has driven from Florida to New York all by himself with no problems. I know other people in my dad's age range that are regular drivers on the road and have great driving record.

I feel mandatory testing should be done for the elderly who have medical issues that affects them physically and mentally and might prove to be hazardous to them and other people driving on the road. I know that the ability to drive oneself is a sign of competence and independence, imposing mandatory testing on those over 65 who are competent and capable of driving themselves would be a waste of time and money.

Stereotyping Of The Elderly

Placing a label on anyone whether they are young, old, Black, White, Spanish, or Asian is wrong but it is human nature to sometimes do that. These labels are called stereotypes. There are many stereotypes that are placed on the elderly in our society. Some of the stereotypes about the elderly are that they are frail/weak, slow drivers, and grumpy.

Although there are some elderly that have become weak and frail due to age, I believe that there are still several that are strong and full of life. My grandfather was still very strong in his 80's and 90's because he always ate healthy and exercised even if it was just walking. My Dad is almost 70 years old and still does all the yard work at his house such as trimming the trees and mowing the lawn. He sometimes have small races with my eight year old son. My dad and grandfather are just a couple of examples of people in their older age that are still strong and vibrant. Are there frail old age people out there? Yes there definitely is, but I do not believe that a weak and frail label should be placed on all of them.

The stereotype that all old age people drive slow may be debatable for some. I am not going to say that while on the road and the person in front of me is driving extremely slow that the thought had not cross my mind that it is probably an old person driving. Was I wrong for making that assumption? Yes, I was wrong for making that assumption but I have found that a good portion of the time if the person in front of me is driving extremely slow the chances are it is an elderly person driving. Still there are also young and middle age people that do the same thing.

Every now and then we all get a little grumpy depending on our circumstances. Unfortunately, this stereotype has been placed on all people of old age. I happen to work with with one that is always unhappy and complains about every little thing but I did not allow that to mess up my views on other elderly people because I know so many others that are sweet, happy and just enjoy making others around them laugh or smile.