The Gift

By Dave Neumaier

Everyday we give gifts away to the special people in our lives. Some gifts can shine like a new pair of shoes. Often, the most important gifts can not be seen or heard. They can only be felt, like the gift of a specially prepared meal, or a glass of water in the middle of the night, or helping someone get dressed for the day, go to the bathroom, or get in bed.

Sometimes this help is not the parents taking care of their children, but rather us children returning some of that love to our mothers and fathers. Life comes full circle, and just like our parents, we worry if you are doing all the right things.

In many family scenarios, a spouse, daughter or son is the primary caregiver. Unfortunately, most families are struggling with an over-extended budget and can not afford the level of professional care giving their parents need. In some scenarios there is no additional care giving at all.

Area Agencies on Aging can be a great resource for not only finding professional services, but adult day care and voluntary services too. Resources like Your Health Magazine are invaluable as well.

Still, we are stretched way too thin to serve as parents, employees, spouses, and as both the caregivers and concerned child of our aging parents.

Truth be told, there is a lot of worrying and guilt involved in taking care of our parents. The thought of our parents falling or hurting themselves when we are away is unbearable.

Furthermore, the idea of missing the subtle signs of declining physical, mental or emotional wellness is also untenable. What steps can we take to avoid this?

Clearly, we can not clone ourselves quite yet. Therefore, “connectedness” is the gift we give our parents and ourselves. Why not use technology to simplify our lives. Even when we are not with our parents, we can have the “peace of mind” that comes with knowing that she has not fallen, and that her daily activities are taking place, that her caregiver came on time, that all her wellness vitals are unchanged. All of this can be achieved without having to break out of a meeting to call.

Knowledge can equal prevention. Prevention creates a higher quality of life. Give the gift of “peace of mind” to yourself by selecting the right senior wellness and independence technology platform for your family.