Dealing with the elderly in your family...

[MikeMike]

Okay so needed info....
grandfather 94
grandmother 89


deal:
My grandfather still wants to get his newspaper from the end of his driveway every morning...

the problem
WINTER
HIS AGE

god it was hard enough to take the keys away (i think we pulled this off somewhere around 90)

now we have to worry about him getting the paper every morning... not to mention him always wanting to go down to the basement and just look around and mess with things...

all things he has done all his life...
all NINETY FOUR YEARS (minus the different age requirements for different things)
but he is old, and doesnt have the mobility and knee function he used to...

 

[zerocool84]

Old people are stubborn and always act like they don't need help even when they clearly need it. You can't force them, just keep asking if they need help.

 

[waffleironhead]

bribe the delivery person to place it closer to the door?

 

[MikeMike]

bribe the delivery person to place it closer to the door?

i dont know if thats possible... i think they have some things that are done by the workers, i THINK when the garbage truck comes by they will wheel it back down to between the garage doors...

the mailman un latches a ball that then sticks up over the mailbox so my grandfather knows that there is mail and doesnt have to check...

almost every day someone in the family is over there helping them or cleaning the house, etc...

 

[CRXican]

they're all dead

 

[Powermoloch]

looks like the newspapers are very important for him, and provide help, at least he'll get the little things he needs.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Okay so needed info....
grandfather 94
grandmother 89


deal:
My grandfather still wants to get his newspaper from the end of his driveway every morning...

the problem
WINTER
HIS AGE

god it was hard enough to take the keys away (i think we pulled this off somewhere around 90)

now we have to worry about him getting the paper every morning... not to mention him always wanting to go down to the basement and just look around and mess with things...

all things he has done all his life...
all NINETY FOUR YEARS (minus the different age requirements for different things)
but he is old, and doesnt have the mobility and knee function he used to...

Don't tell him what he can't do, just keep an eye on him. Yes, I realize that's hard to do all the time. I think we need some kind of combination health condition/GPS/phone/camera/time watch device that we could access securely over the net.

 

[litttlechica]

Maybe you can convince him to wait till someone from the family comes over that day to bring it in. I realize that might be impossible, though. My grandma is 85 and straight from Japan... no matter how many times I tell her, she still doesn't understand that cell phones work even when you leave your house and you can't ALWAYS answer your phone because people take showers etc...if you don't answer she is on the verge of calling the police.

 

[nageov3t]

I live with my 90 year-old great aunt (not with, but she's in the second apartment in the 2-family house that I live in).

she still insists on shoveling sometimes :\ I've told her that she doesn't need to do it and to just let me know if she wants anything shoveled (I'm in the habit of just shoveling a walkable path in the sidewalk... she likes the sidewalk to be 100% clear of snow from the house to the curb), but she keeps doing it.

all I can really do is shovel as much as I can before she gets up and go out there with my own shovel to lend a hand while she does it.

 

[Insomniator]

My 80 year old grandfather disappeared for a few hours... cops found him driving 30mph on the shoulder of the garden state parkway with no gas and no money like 2 hours from where they live. Didn't know where he was or how he got there. That was the end of his driving...

 

[John P]

They don't have any neighbors who can toss it on their front porch before they go to work?

 

[BudAshes]

Eskimos send em out to sea on an iceburg.

 

[nanette1985]

Let the poor guy get his newspaper. It's probably the highlight of his day.

He won't be doing it for much longer, no matter what.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Sounds like even though his body's trying to stop him, your gramps is fighting tooth and nail to maintain some of his dignity and independence.

I'd tell him like it is. "If you keep getting the paper you're gonna fall on your ass and break your hip. Then you won't be able to walk for sure. Let us get you the paper as it'll make us feel better since we'll think we're helping to prevent that."

Or, just let the old man do his thing, if he falls he falls, but at least he'll have his freedom and independence...

 

[surfsatwerk]

Let him die with dignity. Give him a knife and throw him into a cage with some rabbid dogs.

 

[OCGuy]

You are basically telling an old person to stay off his own lawn.........

Its like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife...

 

[darkxshade]

There's only one thing old people are afraid of from their children... being sent to a retirement home... so threaten him with that.

 

[blackdogdeek]

old dog + new tricks = no

just let him do his thing. he'll just hate you if you make him do otherwise.

 

[Jadow]

Ipad + Digtal version of his newspaper = no more walking

 

[Nintendesert]

Just let these old fuckers die doing what they love and living what's left of their life like they want. They aren't your fucking kids so stop treating them like one.

 

[PingSpike]

You know the reason he lived to be that old is probably because he doesn't sit on his ass 100% of the day while his entire body atrophies.

 

[2Xtreme21]

I bet money that everyone in this thread saying "let the old man do his thing" are the same people who bitch and moan every time they're stuck behind one driving 30mph under the speed limit on the highway.

With that said, OP, I'd let him do his thing.. get him one of those Life Alert things you see on commercials during the Price is Right if you're that concerned.

<-- someone who bitches at old people driving slowly.

 

[Capt Caveman]

i dont know if thats possible... i think they have some things that are done by the workers, i THINK when the garbage truck comes by they will wheel it back down to between the garage doors...

the mailman un latches a ball that then sticks up over the mailbox so my grandfather knows that there is mail and doesnt have to check...

almost every day someone in the family is over there helping them or cleaning the house, etc...

Can't hurt to contact the newspaper delivery people and see if they can drop it off at his front door. Maybe, offer some extra $ for the service?

 

[shortylickens]

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Johnn.../dp/B000068WS7

:awe:

 

[Genx87]

Tell him if he goes out there and falls. He is on his own. Threats of a possible slow death always work best.