Senior Health & Aging Support Group

Aging is an important part of all human societies reflecting the biological changes that occur, but also reflecting cultural and societal conventions. There is often considerable social pressure in many societies to sustain denial of the aging process. Join this community to discuss general issues with aging and senior health.

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Approaching Eighty and Afraid

Dahlia308
Dahlia308

I've been a caregiver to two of the three men in my life, but I'm now alone and afraid if I get sick there will be no one to care for me. I'm doing the best I can to stay healthy (eating right, exercising, keeping sharp), but I can't help worrying about what will happen to me if I get sick.

Anyone else in my shoes?

Nancy

Tired
Tired
Maybe try www.agingcare.com. They have a message board to
talk to others and get questions answered. Not many responses on
Daily Strength.
Dahlia308
Dahlia308
Thanks, Tired, I'll try them.
Wilms
Wilms
Nancy, I live that same fear. I turned 80 this year. I am the only caregiver for my invalid husband. I have one son that does not help at all.
We have to ask God to send the right ppl in our lives at the right time.
LoritaK
LoritaK
Yes….on my own….it is scary sometimes….spending more time studying the Bible and talking to the Lord……..am blessed to have a few friends who are going through many of the same things…….thankful for every day when I can do just plain old ordinary things…..
Hugs
Ouilliam
Ouilliam
Very common situation, and with men having generally shorter lifespans i would imagine being even more common.

I took care of parents, and my only sibling died during the Pandemic.

I understand that most fixes for our situation are tough at this point in our lives, but would encourage you to make an investment to sit down with a lawyer or paralegal and make sure that you create a legal document identifying a person or agency to have legal power of attorney or durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions if your health declines and someone has to make healthcare or other financial decisions for you.

At some point we will all face that decline, and now when you are mentally able to get this taken care of is the right point to tackle this. If you are near a senior center, this is a likely spot to be able to access good information and possibly a paralegal providing lower cost services.

Church or interest groups can at least be a setting where others are aware if you are absent or can express a concern that others can help respond to (or they can alert emergency providers). In my situation, the makeup of my church (and many others in my semirural area) is almost exclusively seniors, and so even those in relatively good health are limited in ability to help others especially in personal care. However, i think that being with others and involved in some level of social engagement outside of home likely is very beneficial to overall health.

I am so fortunate to now be in an area where i have fairly good healthcare access, and am hoping that my healthcare rider will cover needed catastrophic care. Longterm care policies are helpful if already purchased but i expect would be prohibitive trying to purchase at our mature ages.
(Though AARP might have some ideas on this one could Google online...)

Hoping you can get good information easily.

Easter blessings and may the saints be watching over us all and cheering us on with good attitudes and caring for each other.
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