For the elderly, life has become a constant struggle. Lapses in memory as well as mood swings are normal as one grows older. They feel idle, useless, and even unwanted, sinking them deeper into a day-after-day ennui. Each age journeys through some quiet roads or goes along with hostile and displeasing tendencies, however unwanted they may be.
For the old, it is the gradual softening of the memory and a descent into the unfamiliarities of ageing as they look at circumstances through eyes clouded by years. Elders have a problem with this. It is the younger age group that must understand the complexities of growing old as life’s foreseeable transition.
Understanding this uniqueness, there are several approaches to make their lives uplifting. They need to see smiles all around them as their brain gets warmly tickled into happy recognitions. They smile back and instantly feel a warm sunlight. They laugh. Their spirits have been sufficiently lifted.
It is important that this age group’s needs are supported — initially, by members of their immediate family — with various services, resources, and other similar care to enhance their quality of life. Their safety and health concerns have to be carefully attended to — such as cautious medical attention, check-ups, in-home physical care and safe mobility, emotional health, as well as productive mental stimulation through special recreational focus on music that reminds them of their youthful years to boost their mood and make them feel less stressed.
Light, regular exercises help maintain their mobility and balance, which prevents them from being unnecessarily wheelchair-bound or bedbound. We protect what we love, what forms part of our life.
There are several daily care routines that must be observed. It may be suggested that some modifications in the house are called for. The bathroom can be a risky place for them. They use the bathroom many times during the night. Good lighting is necessary to prevent them from groping for a clear path. Anti-slip mats, grab bars, and other toileting support for their urinary problems and constipation distresses, and excessive flatulence are important points to have in mind. Look after their personal and hygiene necessities.
House furniture should be arranged to prevent slips and bumping into them. Keep the asthma inhaler nearby. A couple of spritzes will be an immediate relief. Physical connectivity helps a lot. A cluster of grandchildren with ringing voices, hugs, and kisses can always bandage the little wounds the elderly may have.
It should also be to the benefit of the elderly to be with a group of comfortable people that they can interact with, while they should be advised and well-informed about scams and cheats they are vulnerable to.
Their nutritional intake is also a salient point. Their digestive tracts become particularly susceptible to indigestion, diarrhea, skin irritation, and upset stomach. Also, green tea cuts stroke probabilities in seniors by 20%. No milk teas, sodas, and loads of coffee cups. No junk food either. We don’t want them to get bowlegged for lack of calcium. A walking stick could help them to be on the go, however slow it may be.
There are two sides to being in nursing homes. One aspect is their own home’s incapacity to deal with feelings of being restrained by helplessness and of being unable to cope with an overwhelming burden of physical, emotional, and confined home goings-on.
On the other hand, elderly persons may, for a change, desire some options, have a little control over their life — despite the wrinkled faces and frail arms — rather than idle away the days watching dark hair turn into white, and ultimately develop indifference to family members.
Nursing homes provide 24/7 skilled care and prompt assistance in cases of medical emergencies, adaptive meals, assisted bathing and dressing, interaction with other nursing home regulars, and a substantial time and space to retro-age, ransack their memories about dead dreams and dead friends, the loneliness of precocious widowhood, and other memories waiting to be shared.
These elderly have done their bit, paid their dues, and served their time well. They are going through a certain kind of door into another life dimension. It is time now to just live their life — dementia and all — and be happily grateful they are still around. Family and roots are important.
Photographs easily bring back memories, leafing through albums that send them to a comforting tristesse. They have sacrificed in order for us to have the best of life’s chances and better lives. Their past is gone and the future is still nowhere far away.
Live the now. Spend the remaining years in good time because old age is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Get out of the miserable rut. Now.
