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"My mother lives in Battle Creek, Michigan and my profession requires that I make my home in Chicago, Illinois.
I am an only child. My mother and I communicate by phone a couple of times each week. I make the trip to her home one weekend each month.
While in Battle Creek I assisted her in shopping, I prepared and froze some nutritious meals and helped with the heavier tasks to maintain her home.
Some months ago it became apparent that mother was not acting like she felt well. Many of the frozen meals were untouched and she was no longer playing bridge with her card group, of many years. When I discussed this with her she denied any problems and insisted that ‘I was overly concerned and must be too stressed with my job’.
I decided to wait a few months and visit more often to assure that my observations were correct. Unfortunately, the situation accelerated. I searched the Battle Creek phone book for resources and called the local Area Agency on Aging. The lady I talked with provided many useful ideas and suggested that the Senior Diagnostic Center of SouthCentral Michigan could be beneficial in determining the resources that would be helpful in maintaining mother’s independence and also provide me peace of mind.
The assessment consisted of three visits with qualified, sensitive professionals examining her head-to-toe. We invited two of her card-club friends to attend the family conference.
In my mother’s case the prescription for improving the situation was quite easy to implement. Mom’s eyesight had declined and she could not see the cards well enough to play, a trip to the eye doctor would solve that. She was not sleeping well at night and was feeling depressed. The SDC doctor prescribed an antidepressant, the social worker set us up with senior transportation for her eye appointments and I am pleased to say she is doing well. Thank you to all the team at SDC who treated us with care and concern."
Sincerely,
Madelyn Bolview |
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