PUSHING BACK AGE
- Ask your loved one to ask their doctor (clinical doctor or
trusted medical advisor) the following question: “Would it
be better for my lungs to stop smoking?” Be present so the
question does not turn into “Will smoking a few cigarettes
once in a while kill me?” Hearing it from the doctor is
what's needed. - Don't ever purchase something you believe is detrimental
to your elderly person. Whether it's coffee, cigarettes, beer
or lipstick, say “That is something I can't buy for you; it's
against my principles.” Don't be surprised if you cave in a
few times to some super ruse they use on you. But the next
time, have your answer ready. - Let your family and other caretakers know you are no
longer supplying these items (the car keys, the wine bottle,
the codeine-containing pain pills). Try to get cooperation.
Discussing it with your loved one may do more harm than
good. If they start the discussion, you end it. This is not a
task for the timid! After it's done, you'll wonder what was
so difficult. - Don't buy a wheelchair if your loved one can still walk
with your help. Stay with a cane as long as possible. Then
the walker. Stay with a walker as long as possible. Then
your personal help. Once a wheelchair has been accepted,
the last bit of exercise, walking, is lost. Fight against it.
Hide it in a far away closet.
Aging is necessary but chronic illness and
pain are not.
If you have managed to free your loved one from having to
take pills or from certain disabilities that would soon require
pills, you can give yourself great credit. Perhaps you, too, will
find the needed natural help when you are aged and have lost
your authority and your way mentally. Our lives are all fore-