Home for the Holidays

The month of December often includes many wonderful family functions to spend time together and reconnect.  As your family gathers at “home” over the holidays, you might also want to take the opportunity to quietly assess how things are going for your aging parents or other close family members.  It is also the ideal occasion for you and your siblings to make these assessments together.

What should you be looking for?  Fundamentally, you want to make sure your aging loved ones can remain living safe and healthy at home on their own.  Here are a few areas to pay attention to while you are visiting:

• Are things in disarray? How’s the cleanliness of their home? Is the house more un-kept than usual? Do they have bills piling up or mail left unopened? If so, it might be a sign that these basic daily responsibilities are becoming too overwhelming for them. These also might be signs of a decrease in cognitive skills, vision or mobility.
• Are they remaining social? What activities are they doing to stay social with friends? Are they getting out and doing things to keep active? If you find them reluctant to leave the house or always preferring to stay home, this could be a sign that they are having a hard time driving, moving about, seeing or hearing. This could lead to loneliness and depression. Find out what’s causing them to disengage.
• How is their driving? If your parents are still driving, ask them to drive you on a few errands. This can allow you to assess their driving skills. Also check out their car to see if there are any dents or scratches. If you identify concerns, you might want to initiate a discussion about curbing their driving. They may need to either limit their driving – say, to specific places or limited to certain times of day – or even stop driving completely.
• How are they eating? When you open the refrigerator, is it well-stocked with fresh produce and meats or are you seeing signs of a very poor diet and moldy, expired food? When you go out to eat, are they eating less? Are they showing signs of having little interest in food? Do they appear to have lost weight? These could be signs that they are becoming malnourished. A poor diet can intensify chronic diseases, lead to a weakened immune system, and increase the risk of dementia.
• What does the doctor say? Set up an appointment to meet with their regular physician to discuss their current health condition. Check out their medications to see what they’re taking, how often, and that their pills are not expired. Are they taking more than 5 medications? Can you hold a coherent conversation with them? Do they keep repeating the same story? Confusion, dizziness, and signs of dementia can be caused by medications or taking the wrong combinations of drugs.

We know the holidays are supposed to be happy times with family and friends but if you don’t see your parents frequently and there have been concerns about their general health and wellbeing, the holidays are a perfect time to assess how they’re doing. Once you’ve made your assessment, speak to family members, and even discuss what you’re seeing with your parents.

You might not know what to do next because you aren’t able to check on them regularly and that is where FirstLight Home Care can help. Our caregivers are amazing. Our offices offer customized services for your parents based on what they need. We offer Companion Care, Personal Care, Dementia Care, Respite Care, and Transportation services to help them live a quality and independent life in their home and to give you peace of mind.