Apart from finding out about community services, changing the environment may help. Shop fox items to make life easier. Are you afraid your mother may fall in the tub? A set of grab bars may be the answer. Are the controls on her stove or her faucets too hard to turn? There may be a gadget that can help. Does it worry you that your father cannot hear the phone? Look for a device that amplifies the sound of the bell or the caller’s voice. Even ordering the large print edition of the newspaper can raise your relative’s spirits and so increase the distance from a nursing home.

You can find helpful items by visiting a medical supply store or even a hardware store. Another place to call is the occupational therapy department of your local hospital. Occupational therapists specialize in rehabilitation. Their job is to know the range of devices and environmental modifications that make life easier for people with disabilities.

You may want to make a more radical environmental modification – convince your relative to move. Would your mother function better if she lived around the corner from you or moved to a smaller apartment? Perhaps you can get her into one of the growing number of residences that offer meals, maid service, and personal care to older people who are having some trouble handling life on their own. (Once again, your local office for the aging is the place to get information on this type of housing.)

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GENERAL HEALTH