Your senior might have expressed her desire to age in place, but does she fully understand what that means? In some cases, there may be bigger challenges involved in aging in place than in shifting to another living situation. Big decisions might need to be made that focus on what’s truly best for your senior and her unique needs.
Mobility Can Become a Bigger Issue
Your senior may gradually become less active when she’s aging in place. This can lead to faster loss of muscle tone, which is a big problem. This affects your senior’s ability to continue to be as active as she wants to be, which then becomes a big loop of loss. Ultimately, your elderly family member may find that she’s far less mobile than she needs to be.
Sensory Issues Become More Challenging
There are also sensory changes that your elderly family member might not notice or account for. Vision and hearing loss both impact not only your senior’s ability to see and to hear what is going on around her, but also how her brain functions. Your senior may need additional help with making sure that her home is bright enough and that she’s able to account for hearing changes.
Cognitive Changes May Go Unnoticed Longer
With age, your senior may find that her brain starts to work differently than it did in the past. Her judgment might change and her ability to solve problems, even ones related to her own well-being, is hindered. Sometimes this is due to dementia, but it can also be a result of aging. Noticing these changes is the key to early detection of treatable problems.
Fall Risk Can Increase
Your elderly family member’s fall risk can also be a lot higher in a situation where she’s aging in place. You’ll need to work with her to identify and correct tripping hazards so that you can help her to avoid falling. In other living arrangements, your senior may have greater incentive to maintain strength and flexibility, which are both key to avoiding a fall.
One of the tools your senior is going to need in order to successfully age in place is assistance from you and other family members, but also assistance from a home care provider. This ensures that your aging family member’s needs are properly met and that you’ve got an early warning about situations that could be harmful for her.
IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE IS CONSIDERING CAREGIVERS IN SUMMERLIN, NV, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT GOLDEN HEART SENIOR CARE OF SUMMERLIN. 702-800-4616.
