Dementia, Mobility-Challenged, 90 year-old Sisters Meet After Two Years for a Summer Outing

What better to enrich a parent’s summer than a change of scenery!

Two cousins arrange for their elderly mothers (90 and 96), living two hours apart, to meet for lunch half-way between the cities where they live. One mother is mobility challenged, one has dementia. Sounds like a difficult summer outing; yet I’m told all went very well and the elderly sisters had such a good time.

This kind of outing takes special planning plus.  Selecting a quiet location with a nice view, an hour’s drive from each sister’s residence was key. It limited driving time to two hours, broken up by lunch. Tuesday’s post suggested parks with picnic tables and restaurants that were handicapped accessible.  Public golf courses with nice dining facilities provide another option.

The daughters drove their mothers and each brought along a caregiver to help so everyone could relax more. The mobility-challenged sister’s mind was sharp.  The dementia-afflicted sister can identify everyone in a 50-year-old photo and enjoy what’s happening at the moment, but forgets the latter quickly. A good time was had by all, with the daughters feeling especially happy about the success that their careful planning achieved.

While neither sister lived independently, both appreciated being taken out to see new things and have a meal.  And, as we see, “When there’s a will there’s a way.” Indeed when adult children can help aging parents who are burdened by these major challenges, it’s a win-win for everyone.

So if we know elders we care about can get out–to see a doctor if nothing else.  And if we want to give them a change and add enrichment to their lives–which takes planning and effort–Tuesday’s post will elaborate, providing additional ideas to help parents age well.

Changing often: “Of Current Interest” (right sidebar). Links to timely information and research from top universities, plus some fun stuff–to help parents age well.