Tag: Aging

Two weeks ago, on a whim, I wrote an article discussing how the reboot of the show “Roseanne” has been addressing issues related to aging. Since writing that article, another episode has debuted that touched on an issue that many Baby Boomers are struggling with — aging parents. Specifically, we’ll be reviewing season 10, episode 6, entitled “No Country for Old Women.”

In the show, Roseanne and her sister, Jackie, are confronted with how best to assist their aging mother, Beverly. Neither daughter wants to take full responsibility for her, as they are both leading complicated lives that leave little time for caring for an aging parent. It also doesn’t help that Beverly has a challenging personal outlook and worldview. Eventually, the sisters decide on “joint custody,” with the mother alternating where she lives every week. As one would suspect, Beverly isn’t very happy with this situation. After Jackie catches her mid-coitus with an older gentleman in Jackie’s apartment, Beverly half-heartedly threatens suicide. This moment helps Jackie to see the challenges her mother faces and how the whole situation makes her feel unwanted. Jackie concedes, and Beverly takes up residence with her.

In less than a half hour of television, this episode struck at the heart of a growing crisis in American families. As people live longer, their retirement funds are drying up, and their need for extended medical care grows. Families once took care of aging relatives at home, but that was usually for just a few years. Now, an aging parent might live for a decade or more, requiring additional care that children and grandchildren just aren’t able to render. Of course, the children don’t want to feel guilty by placing their parent in a community that the parent doesn’t want to go to. It’s a rock and a hard place, for sure.

In 2016, The Atlantic published an article called, “What Aging Parents Want From Their Kids.” In the piece, several families are interviewed about how they are handling aging, from both the children’s and parents’ point of view. It’s fascinating how the roles have reversed, with parents feeling the stress of being checked up on and feeling as though their life is under constant scrutiny. This can lead to parents trying to hide age-related health issues, such as memory lapses and difficulty with daily activities. On the other side of the coin, adult children are often afraid of their parents getting hurt, further encouraging their protective behavior. Welcome to the new normal for many families.

“Roseanne” adroitly manages to take a serious topic and find the humor in it. Yes, Beverly is a prickly individual that is hard to like, but she’s still a human being with feelings that can be hurt. Just because she’s aging doesn’t mean that she is bereft of value. Jackie and Roseanne are forced to confront their own behavior and how it impacts someone they love.

This issue is becoming all too common in our space. As caregivers to the aging, we must also care for a resident’s family, who can be just as scared as a new resident. The services that communities provide are felt well beyond the resident, and our ability to put the family at ease is often even more important than the direct care a resident might get.

Source:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/when-youre-the-aging-parent/472290/

On March 27, 2018, ABC aired the first episode of “Roseanne”’s 10th season. To say there was an appetite for the relaunch of this program is an understatement; more than 18 million people tuned in to watch the show, which was renewed for an 11th season within three days of the airing. Sure, nostalgia is driving interest in the production, but the stories being told are resonating with viewers, especially in the 18 to 49 demographic.

You might be wondering why we’re discussing a television show that is popular with an age group that doesn’t qualify as the “mature market.” It’s certainly a pertinent question! To answer that query, we point to season 10, episode 3, entitled “Roseanne Gets the Chair.” While every episode of the season touches on aging issues, this one brings them to the forefront.

As Roseanne has aged, her knees have gotten bad. Throughout the season, she quips about her joint pain and the challenges she faces getting around as she ages. To help this situation, Roseanne’s caring husband, Dan, installs a chair lift in their home stairwell to help Roseanne with her mobility issues. Dan says he got the lift from a neighbor who passed away, implying that someone much older than Roseanne up to this point used it. Naturally, Roseanne is resistant to using the lift because, in her words, “It makes me feel old.” At one point in the show, Roseanne gives in to using the lift, taking a seat and riding it up the stairs. As she does so, her granddaughter bounds up and down the steps, running past her, making her feel even more feeble and vulnerable. This interaction illustrates a point that is hitting close to home for that 18 to 49 audience — namely, the adult children that are now looking to care for their parents.

In real life, Roseanne is 65 years old, and it can be presumed that her character is roughly the same age. In the show, she and Dan struggle with keeping track of their prescriptions and dealing with age-related pain, as well as the challenges of living with their children and grandchildren all under one roof. Let’s face it: This is a common story in America today, which may be why the show has struck a cord.

People 18 to 49 are young enough to remember when “Roseanne” first aired, with a young, vibrant cast dealing with blue-collar issues. Now, that cast has aged alongside them and is facing the same life stage challenges as their families are. Adult children are watching as their parents endure joint replacements, manage medications and fight to stay active, even as their bodies begin to decline. This is especially apparent within blue-collar families, who may not be able to afford a retirement community and choose to stay in their own homes, depending on family care and resourcefulness.

In its own way, “Roseanne” is generating discussion and insight on the aging process in a manner that no other show is doing today. Rather than exaggerating the issues of aging for sport, the show reacts to them in a real way. This reaction is something that many adult children are facing as they watch their own parents age into their mid- to late-60s and early 70s. The desire for this group to remain active is routinely challenged by health, leading to adult children taking on caregiver roles — whether they are equipped or not.

Through our work with aging services providers, we know these challenges all too well. Previously in this blog, we’ve discussed the lack of middle class senior living options. Instead, our industry is bookended with affordable housing and luxury brands, leaving the middle class with few places to turn. We must ask ourselves: Where will the Roseanne’s of the world live in the next 10 years, and is our industry ready for those opportunities?

In the meantime, we will continue to tune in to “Roseanne” and laugh along with America — even as we look deeper into the aging issues that the show brings to life.

Welcome to the month of May!

It’s a time when we welcome blossoming flowers, warmer temperatures and the observance of Older Americans Month. In the next few days, aging services providers across the country will tip their hats to this annual event — perhaps going so far as to plan a promotion around it — yet we find that most providers don’t understand the history and true purpose of the celebration.

Older Americans Month was established in 1963 to support and recognize the small population of Americans aged 65 and over at that time. Fifty-five years later, if Older Americans Month were a person, it could join AARP and would probably start getting mailers about your communities and services. The impetus for the creation of the observance came from the National Council of Senior Citizens who worked with then-president John F. Kennedy to establish Senior Citizens Month, which has evolved over time into the annual event we know today. Starting with JFK, every president since has issued a formal proclamation, asking that the nation pay tribute to older Americans in some way — whether through a ceremony, a fair or some other activity.

The program is now under the purview of the Administration on Aging, in partnership with other agencies and entities. Each year, a theme is determined, with supporting materials provided to help community leaders recognize older Americans for their lives and service. The theme for 2018 is “Engage at Every Age,” which aims to emphasize that you are never too old (or too young) to take part in activities that can enrich your life. Specifically, the program is shining a light on mental and physical wellness this year, including traditional exercise-based ideas, as well as more unusual ones, like establishing a mentoring relationship.

We encourage you to explore the website for Older Americans Month and make use of all of the resources provided. The outline great ideas for programs that can help energize your residents and team members, as well as the greater community that your organization serves.

Click here to visit the website for OAM.

Remember: If you are posting about Older Americans Month on social media, use the hashtag #oma18! to share all of the great things you are doing!

This article is a guest post by Rebecca Evans of GeriatricNursing.org. As we approach Older American’s month, we thought it was an appropriate time to discuss one of the most challenging diseases that an aging adult might face – Parkinson’s. We thank Rebecca for her input and we hope you enjoy the piece!

I can hear you wondering: How is it hard to diagnose Parkinson’s Disease? After all, aren’t the characteristic symptoms rather distinctive?

Well…yes and no, unfortunately.

Yes, Parkinson’s disease symptoms are rather distinctive (for the most part, anyway; there are a few diseases and drug reactions that can mirror Parkinson’s symptoms)…but they take time to develop. In the early stages of the disease, in fact, it can be incredibly hard to diagnose.

After all, there are no precise tests for Parkinson’s. As often as not, it is mistaken in its early stages for another disease—which in turn delays appropriate treatment.

Most common diagnosis difficulties

For instance, there’s data that actually suggests that as many as 25% of Parkinson’s patients are misdiagnosed. That is, they may be receiving treatment for Parkinson’s, and not actually have Parkinson’s. Or they may be receiving treatment for something else, and actually have Parkinson’s disease.

A big part of this goes back to the fact that there is no precise test for Parkinson’s, and different diagnosing doctors treat different indicators differently. For instance, some of the most common tests given to potential Parkinson’s patients are CT scans, blood tests, urine samples, and more. None of these tests are definitive, however (remember, no precise test?), and so it is up to the doctors reviewing these tests to decide what to make of them.

For some doctors, inconclusive test results may cause them to lean toward a Parkinson’s diagnosis. For other doctors, those same inconclusive results may cause them to lean away.

So what are more accurate predictor tests?

In particular, because Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder, you probably want systematic neurological assessments to play a role in your diagnosis. For instance, neurologists familiar with Parkinson’s will know to test your reflexes, balance, muscular strength and responsiveness. Additionally, it is not uncommon for a neurologist looking at the possibility of Parkinson’s to say they aren’t yet sure. They want to run more tests, or want to run more tests in the future to see if your symptoms develop further. Parkinson’s is not an easy diagnosis to make. As such, neurologists familiar with the disease will likely not rush into such a diagnosis.

Similarly, there are a whole range of neurological disorders that can present many of the same symptoms as Parkinson’s. As a result, a neurologist may want to be careful to eliminate or rule out some of those other neurological disorders.

As a general rule, the more careful and thorough your neurologist is in testing you,  the more comfortable you can be in their diagnosis.

Please do note, however, that you can always get a second opinion from a neurologist you trust if you don’t feel comfortable with your original neurologist.

Why is appropriate and early diagnosis so important?

Quite simply, because it is the key to better treatment. When earlier caught, treatment can begin earlier, and adjustments can be made to help preserve independence and a high quality of life. This might mean developing an early exercise routine that works, finding the pharmaceutical regimen that gives best results, and determining what level of physical therapy works best for you and your current symptoms.

What diseases are most often confused with Parkinson’s disease?

In particular, if you suspect you or a loved one may have Parkinson’s disease, these are some of the other diseases that may regularly be confused with Parkinson’s. You will want your neurologist to rule them out in testing:

Benign essential tremor
Brain tumor
Huntington’s disease
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple system atrophy
Striato-Nigral degeneration
Supranuclear palsy

Other diseases may also be confused with Parkinson’s, obviously, but the above list is some of the most common.

So ask your neurologist to be thorough. It’s more important that you are appropriately diagnosed, so you can get the care you need, than that you are diagnosed quickly.

Multiple Sclerosis – An infographic by GeriatricNursing.org