How to face aging and disabilities. It happen to anyone now or later

When ones get old and no longer a strong independent person, a disabled senior citizen must learn new ways to cope with his / her changing lifestyle.

At one time in life, he / she was confident, physically strong and mentally alert. He / She was able to multi-task-cooking, cleaning and seeing to the needs of his / her family.

How things have changed! His wife / her husband has passed away. His / her children have grown and no longer need his / her nurturing. They have families of their own which takes up their time and energy. Brief phone calls and occasional short visits are what remain of their time with their children.

The ability to work in chosing career has long passed. It is a chore just to get out of bed on his / her own and then the walker is the constant companion. The doctor is the confidant although he / she seldom goes to see him anymore because there really isn't anything he can do for him / her.

He / she lives on a meager monthly amount of social security, not really enough to meet basic needs. He / she chooses which medications he / she can afford to get refilled every month. What he / she eats is determined by what is on sale and he / she must wait until someone has time to go to the store for him / her.

Lately, not only do his / her legs not want to cooperate, his / her memory is failing. He / She tries to hide it and makes excuses for why he / she has not returned calls he / she doesn't remember getting. Although he / she is lonely at times, he / she often lets the answering machine get his / her calls. Conversations often don't make sense to him / her anyway.

Although he / she would like to tell someone how he / she feels, he / she isn't sure how to describe it and doubts if anyone wants to know.

He / She fears that if he / she complains too much, his / her family will totally avoid him / her or put him / her in a nursing home. When his / her sons come around, he / she always has projects or chores that need to be done. He / She feels he / she is a burden.

The years seem to have passed so quickly. Now the days seem to drag on.

Do you have a parent or grandparent who might be feeling this way? Think about things they need but are afraid to ask. This could be as simple as your time. Remember that we will all be there someday and will want the next generation to look after us.