It is that time of year when the frailty of family members is starting to become very apparent.
I still feel 21 at heart although my body is starting to object to certain things these days. I am certainly not as flexible as I once was and my joints are starting to creak a little too. I am fast approaching the big 4-0 which means that my parents are nearing 70.
Both my step-mum and step-dad have suffered from health problems this year, with one having treatment on his heart and the other a fairly major stroke which has left her unable to do the things that the rest of us take for granted, like eating her dinner. I didn’t even realise that they even made disabled cutlery sets which give the user a bigger, better grip so they can remain as independent as possible.
I don’t think of my parents as old at all, they travel frequently and seem to be in good health, albeit with regular MOT’s – in fact my Dad is still working running a retirement home, even though he is over retirement age himself. Working keeps him fit and he enjoys looking after the elderly men and women that live there. He used to be a paramedic so he copes well with all the drama’s that unfold on a fairly regular basis from falls to more serious ailments.
The kids are always entertained when we visit, playing on the stairlift, which I can confirm is great fun as we used to play on one too when we had a Rest Home when I was growing up. The lightweight bath seat is another hit, although it gets used more like a climbing frame and the corridors are so long and winding that it’s easy to get lost (which I do frequently) and Grandad has to come and find us!
Hopefully the stairlifts are a long way off for my Mum and Dad I cannot imagine a stage when they will need this sort of paraphernalia, but I am sure that time will come.
**This is a commissioned post**
