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Aging
Golden Years Not So Golden
How do you make the choice to move a loved one to a nursing home?
My grandpa is in hell.
He has the unfortunate task of deciding whether or not to put his wife of 60-plus years in a nursing home.
But his wife is not the same woman he married all those years ago; she has Alzheimer’s and she’s combative and mean. Even their caregiver, who comes to their home twice a week, almost quit after Grandma kicked her in the face and bloodied her nose.
Grandpa can’t do it alone.
Family members have been telling grandpa for at least a year or two that he should put Grandma in a nursing home so that she can receive better care and so that he can have his life back.
Grandpa is going to be 99 years old next month so he might not have much life left to live. Grandma is also going to be 99 in the fall. They’ve led extraordinary lives, full of love, travel and adventure.
Now they’re at the end of their lives and it’s hard, really fucking hard. Family helps by taking meals and groceries over and picking up prescriptions, but none of us can handle Grandma’s care.
Grandpa survived a stroke in his 80s; he also survived prostate cancer. Grandma has…
