How do you tell someone....
That they are too old to do something
My friends elderly parents he's 82 and she's 75
He is in the early to medium stages of dementia and she's not far behind
He's had his drivers licence taken off him as he can't walk without a stick can't turn his head or concentrate enough to hold a 20 second conversation.
Last week his wife woke to a phone call at 6.30am from the night watchman at the Dr's where he had a 10.30am appointment the following day,saying he was beating on the door wanting to be let in.
He had managed to get up,back the car out and make a 40 min car journey in the dark without headlights
Yet he had left the car running in the car park because he couldn't remember how to turn it off or take the keys out.
Now the wife has to hide the keys and lock them both in the house at night
Comments (11)
I got friends like him
Friggin cool onto it people they are.
Behind the wheel
We snap into being an actual driver
No matter our state
Hard to explain
I'd ride wiv em any day
I trust others dangers more than my own lol.
Yet alot they tell me to do it
We still here
Friggin get in Da car
Daears is right, driving is a conditioned reflex, like reading. You can't forget it because it isn't memory, so only when the reflexes themselves are destroyed are you unable to do it. Unable to reach the car unaided by that point anyway
I know it is possible to switch off access to things without a password (keep your kids out of your browsing history, for example) so I guess it must be possible to make buying online dementia-proof as easily as child-proof?
No idea how to stop him physically removing and hiding bits, though.
Where's the wheels
Dementia - 'The long good-bye'.
Your friend has my sympathy.
They need to be in an assisted living facility.
which could be hired home care, and/or family.
Some older folk reflexes are slower and road traffic is so different now, they don't just understand and are a danger to others and themselves.
That is not all older people before I get shot.
I still think after 75 say older people should have refresher courses and be assessed again.
I myself never enjoyed driving so when retired rely on coaches
But old blue I get you, I could not tell my friends why I dont get in their cars,
For one thing, he's not too old, he's too unwell with a degenerative condition.
If he has moments of lucidity and understands that, he will also have moments of non-lucidity where he doesn't. Eventually, he will have no lucidity.
It's a chaotic lifestyle living with dementia. Everytime I found a dear friend wandering around the village on her own she was less confident about who I was and where she was. She became more and more anxious about me walking her home. I got the impression she was frightened I was going to rob her, or harm her.
Her daughter moved back in to care for her. The last few times I saw them out and about, my friend appeared petrified. I'm guessing nothing made any sense to her anymore.