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My aunt is the primary caregiver for my grandparents who are 80 and 87; my grandmother has Alzheimer's and my grandfather has a defibrillator and is, well, 87. She's determined to be their caregiver, yet is overworked and stressed (she also works full-time). My mother lives out-of-state and my uncles, who live w/in 5-20 minutes of my GPs, are more into crises and handling doctor's appointments than daily care. I live about 30-45 minutes away.


My grandfather is still in fairly good health, but now drives rarely and has been showing more signs of general fatigue than he used to. He still talks w/my grandmother as if she can keep up w/the minutiae of daily life and the details of our family and friends' lives despite her loose medical compliance (he won't make her) and diminished personal care (ungroomed nails and wearing the same three or four outfits ad infinitum).


My grandmother was admitted to the ER in February due to not taking her meds for an undetermined time and I would like to avoid a repeat incident. Besides the other signs, she has been confusing me for my youngest cousin for a while now (I'm the oldest grandchild) which lets me know that she has moved out of the middle stage and into the later stages.

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Unfortunately, your aunt and her parents are suffering from “head in the sand”-Itis. And, unless there is a true crises where everyone will get involved, including your uncles not much can be done. To convince them by yourself is a daunting task. Sadly, you may need to wait until this crises occurs and then have what we call a “come to Jesus” meeting with all of them. But have your ducks in a row and don’t make vague suggestions. Know what help is out there, and what their insurance will pay for.
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freqflyer Nov 2019
I agree with Ahmijoy, for myself trying to convince my parents [90+] that they needed extra help just landed on deaf ears [pun intended].

It took a crises before anything could be done, and by then my Mom needed a village to care for her, thus she was in long-term-care. Dad, on the other hand, was more than happy to call a caregiving agency for himself. If only my Mom had his common sense .... [sigh].
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Whoever has their durable Power of Attorney is the one who is able to make decisions in their best interest. If no one has this authority, then not much can be done other than spend a lot of time and energy (and maybe money) to orbit them endlessly until a true crisis forces another living arrangement. They can be reported to social services as vulnerable adults if things get really bad and they aren't taking care of their own basic needs. This is hard to watch unfold but if they aren't cooperative there's not much you can do except exhaust yourselves. Good luck!
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