In our water aerobics class today, a fellow "pond scummer" as we call ourselves, talked about caring for her aging mother who lives out of town. The aging mother fell in her bathroom recently and the fire department was called. The woman's older children want her to take several precautions so as to not fall again. She was a bit resistant, so the outreach person at the fire department said it was OK to tell the mother that if she fell two more times, and the fire folks were called, they would have to make a report to her doctor who might determine that it was no longer safe to live alone. This is not true, of course.

This got the mother's attention. She will be compliant now with the precautions.

We all said that sometimes with older folks we have to "make up stories" to get their attention. Have you ever done this?

 

  

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