Preparing to Age in Place

Hello all. Aging and pets:

We just lost our two beloved cats and two corgis within the last 14 months. They were all just about the same ages and they were raised together. On top of dealing with the grieving we are now looking at whether we can handle adding a new furry family member at this stage of our lives....we are 72 and 76. Our main concern is who will care for them if they outlive us....no relatives close or able. The thought of not having another cat or dog in our lives is awful to imagine. Anybody else struggling with this. We could foster but I know we would become so attached that we find it nearly impossible not to foster fail.

Gravity-
Yes, you can do it, and I believe you must. My critter companions have given me a safe, sane spiritual place for many years.
Our dogs were adopted from a rescue agency with a contract that if we can't care for them we must return them to the agency and they will find a new home.
My end-of-life document makes this clear. Hazel was much loved by her foster family and they would welcome her back if we can't care for her.

Sue-
This is great! "When my Dad was in his 70's he treated himself to a 5-hour workday."
I love my shop work building musical instruments, but I'm learning not to feel guilty about my shorter work hours. I'm learning to take my time, be patient and not injure myself or work to exhaustion.
Two work sessions of 2-3 hours gets a lot done.
I'm not sure those 10 hour work days were such a good practice.

I agree wholeheartedly Ed. We are inclined to get another kitty....an adult or senior. If we were to adopt a rescue from Southeast cogi rescue they have a similar agreement to taking a pup back if we become too disabled to provide adequate care. Other than my husband I can't imagine a better companion than a furry family member.

My younger brother found out the (really) hard way last fall - he pushed on trying to finish a woodworking project for his granddaughter before a planned vacation trip - at about 11pm, his hand slipped and the table saw took one finger & damaged nerves and tendons in 3 others. 2 surgeries and a missed vacation later, he admitted he knew he was too tired and should have stopped.
The old saying was "too soon old, too late smart."

We had safety bars professionally placed in both bathrooms. In the shower and next to the bathtub. Also, railing by all stairs. This really helps. Get rid of throw rugs. Too easy to fall.

I was a house painter for a long time, as a summer 2nd vocation, and I'm not sure I could stand to have someone else paint my house. I'm a perfectionist. Actually I have dual diagnoses - perfectionist and procrastinator.

I agree about ladders. I have one lightweight extension ladder that I only use for things like getting on the roof of a trailer. All of the rest of them are contractor grade, from a 4 foot step ladder to a 26 foot extension ladder that I have to have help leaning it up against the house. 20 years ago it was only mildly difficult. If I'm going to be on a ladder, I don't want to be swaying in the wind. My orthopedist opposes ladders. But I told him that an important reason I want my other Achilles tendon taken care of is that I need to be able to climb ladders.

I finished scraping the shed this afternoon. I found it challenging because my shoulders complained. Levofloxacin caused tendonitis in both elbows and in my left rotator cuff. It has really handicapped me, taking that antibiotic. But switching back and forth from one arm to the other, along with a number of water breaks, I managed to get the job done. Tomorrow I'll sand and prime. That's a lot less strenuous. The siding is in good shape, so I only have to paint the trim, which is something I've always enjoyed doing. And yes, it was a much shorter work day than I put in when I was 60.

We did have a contractor install new windows, tear out the carpet and replace it with Pergo, replace the front door, insulate the attic and the crawl space and put on a metal roof and gutters. That would have taken me a lot longer to do than a crew did.

Jim

Yesterday I had a talk with my dog-walking pal, Chuck.
He told me his neuropathy was worst when he first got up from bed, making him very unstable for the first ten or so steps.

Bingo! I knew what he was talking about.
Elderly gentlemen often make several short night time walks to the bathroom, barely awake and hurrying to get to the bathroom without leaking.

Someone recently posted that her husband fell and broke his femur, refusing to use a walker for his bathroom run. It would not surprise me to learn that he refused the walker because one hand was busy trying to stop leaking.

This has got me thinking how I can assist my nightly bathroom walks. The footboard of the bed is just where I need it. I can add a grab bar/towel rack in the bathroom and there are already bars by the toilet. The vanity is well located. That leaves about a ten foot gap which I need to think about.
It also wouldn't hurt to have a urinal by the bed for emergencies.

I don't like thinking about this, but I know we've come to appreciate bathroom grab bars sooner than we expected.

Good morning, everyone,

What grates deep down inside is less having to watch hired others do major tasks in my stead, like cleaning the gutters or replacing sprinkler heads, but minor, domestic, reoccurring tasks, like hauling our week's trash from our back door through the garden to the alley barrels. Not too long ago, that was a domestic task I could do without giving it a second thought. Nowadays, however, with a large fiber neuropathy making straightforward walking over the bumpy ground a feat worthy of not only second thoughts but maybe also even third and fourth thoughts, I find I have no choice but to 'stay out of the way' while my partner hauls the trash to the alley. I feel awful. I'm told I shouldn't feel that way, but I still do. I can't help it.

Ray (@ray666)

You are old enough to remember the old song "To Everything There is a Season..." - yesterday I am sure my husband had to dig deep to ask our daughter to help him lift the 75# storage battery in and out of it's box on the trailer tongue - it sure bothered me when I had to have my nephew haul and dump the water softener salt this summer! Even my 50-something neighbor with a bad back has to grit his teeth and prod his 16yo to mow lawn.