Mom is 88 years old and a long time alcoholic. She is almost blind and uses a walker because she broke her hip twice and still lives alone in a regular apartment. She complains about how tired she is but still walks a mile (each way) to buy liquor even in winter when the roads and sidewalks are covered by snow. Sometimes she falls in the street.
She won't ask anyone to pick it up for her, because she knows that we think she is an alcoholic. I have refused to buy it for her before, but now I don't know if I should start.
She is risking her life by walking to the liquor store and has ended up in the hospital because she falls in the street. She won't use a car service or ask anyone to drive her. She will let us order regular groceries through a delivery service. But not liquor and cigarettes. Should I start buying it for her? Her doctor says she is competent and has the right to make her own decisions.
Docs HATE to make a determination of incompetence! They avoid it like the plague...& sadly, sometimes, to the deaths of some people.
The very basic rule about determining a person incompetent, is:
"are they a danger to themselves or others?"
SOMEtimes, a caregiver must educate the Docs on actual behaviors of their patient, or like some below posts say, the patient was lying to their Docs about their habits.
Docs, their staff, & Social Workers need to understand, that when a person lies to their Docs about unhealthy habits, & it is adversely affecting their health, they ARE being a "danger to themselves or others".
Especially if they get violent while drinking, for instance.
Society does not look kindly on caretakers who let their charges do things that cause harms.
OTH, elders might be counseled to learn how they really feel...they MIGHT have just had more than they can take of this life, so don't care about taking care of themselves..& certainly Won't choose to change their behaviors.
Alcoholics & smokers too often have silent death wishes..& would deny they felt that way to anyone out loud.
BUT...MAYBE counseling might help figure that out...then it is STILL the choice of the person, whether they want to sign up for Hospice & be allowed to starve, drink or smoke themselves to death.
But then at least, all caregivers would be aware, & could properly support the elder doing that.
One general practitioner's 10-minute diagnosis of competence does not have to be a dead end.
Many people on this thread are saying the law does not allow you to force her to change if she's of sound mind. However, in our society we have a moral and ethical obligation to take care of our parents if we can. It's up to each person to decide what they can do emotionally and financially, but when our moral obligation conflicts with the law, we can't just give up and allow loved ones to put themselves (and others!) in harm's way.
In fact, some states have laws making adult sons and daughters liable for the parents' cost of care, or liable for damage caused by elderly parent's impaired driving due to dementia. Those laws exist in the same larger framework of laws that say elders and disabled people have the same civil rights as the rest of us.
Reality is, group care, home care, and many doctors understand the family's wish to prevent further harm and they will be on "your side" more often than not as you try to keep your elderly mother safe.
Blaming it on "the elder law attorney said we can't" sounds like an excuse from people who eventually had to give up, or whose personal limits were reached very early.
There's a lot you CAN do, keep trying, and learn to understand your own limits when you must quit.
Within my family I did find the medicos wanted to help, wanted to keep my relative safe but had to work within their limit. As did I.
Doctor said living alone is unsuitable - but still she does. Physio says supervised outings required - but she goes out alone when chooses. She leaves the building through an entry with oncoming cars. Doctor says competent unless proved otherwise. She has refused Dr appoitments which could look further (neuro tests) & any offers to get further help.
So it's 'awaiting the crises' for any change. I was told once in crises mode, neuro testing would be requested by Doctor (maybe even by a court order) to assess competency, then guardian appointed if required.
I tried many paths, but they all led back here. To await the crises.
They didn't give me a diagnosis, but because of her and my sisters' abusive behavior toward me, the social worker told me to step back and let my sisters take on the caregiving. They also said that if my sisters didn't want to help, it was my mom's problem, not mine.
So I have backed off, but can't completely abandon her. I try to keep an eye on her, to try to avoid emergencies. I'm working on healthy boundaries, and respecting her right to make her own decisions. I do sometimes wonder if she is jerking my chain about going to the store. It seems so strange that she would risk her safety just to get attention.
She really does walk to the store and it is upsetting the very kind management at her regular apartment building (Not senior living) and last Sunday they went looking for her because she was gone so long. They can't evict her or refuse to extend her lease because of discrimination laws. Fortunately they are willing to encourage her to not renew her lease in July, but if she wants to stay, they have to let her.
Alcoholics make poor decisions about everything to get a drink and keep drinking. Young, healthy alcoholics stagger and fall in the street. Unless she becomes incompetent mentally, her life is still her own as always.
If she was totally incompetent, the 2nd answer makes sense and you'd have to intervene. You can't tell a competent adult how to live because they become elderly and physically sick.
On one visit to my brother in rehab I passed by a lady in a wheelchair sitting with a dozen other Wheelchair Bound patients around the nurse’s station. It’s just easier for the nurses. Whether they wanted it or not, there they sat. For hours at a time. This lady, who i later learned was 100 years old, was begging to go lay down in her bed.
I told the nurse that she wanted to take a nap. The nurse said she would die if she stayed in bed.
100 years old. I told the nurse, trying to not be angry, that there are worse things than dying. Being forced to sit up straight in an uncomfortable wheelchair for hours was worse than death. All this woman wanted was to lay down.
I realized then that there are, in fact, worse things than death.
get your Mom the alcohol. Join her in a glass, even if it’s watered down. Have a toast to life! Get her cigarettes. Sit with her and talk about happy memories.
after a couple drinks and smokes. Leave the bottle with her and move the smokes out of sight.
trying to prolong her life by not participating in getting her the things she wants is not helping her, but denying her the quality of life she has left.
remove the greater danger of dying on an ice covered street by letting her have some control over the only aspect of life that she can actually control.
By doing that, her life may be shortened by a week or month,, but at least she’ll be on her own terms and she’ll achieve some small sense of happiness at the end of her life.
Consider the pain and life changing horror of the poor person who might run over her on the icy street.
There are worse things than dying.
putting myself in her shoes ... have a drink with me. Make sure I don’t cause a fire. Hold my cigarette if you have to. Help me through my last days and try hard not to judge.
My humble opinion. I’m an old person, too.
I've been told by many medical professionals that she is competent to make her own decisions, and yes, she is free to make bad ones. A few suggested I walk away, and I even had a consultation with a lawyer at one point regarding my liabilities & responsibilities. I had to turn stony & clinical, limit my interactions with her, just buy her the daily wine (maybe cigarettes too), drop it off, and find an excuse to quickly leave. The first couple of years were filled with tears (on my end only), then I just went numb and into self-protection mode.
Mom's health quickly unraveled this past August due to aspirational pneumonia. She went from the hospital (where she was exposed to COVID), to rehab, to assisted living, to memory care in a matter of four months. She's wheelchair bound. Wednesday this week I received a phone call that she had a seizure. She had at least two and is now hospitalized. Last night I was reflecting back on my stressful, angry years of daily "wine runs" for her. My husband said, "I don't know how you did it". My daily wine runs are over but my sad journey with my mom is not. I've worked on releasing my anger over the past several months. I cried in the shower this morning, thinking of the good years and relationship she threw away while she drowned herself in alcohol.
Yeah, I don't know how I did it. But looking back at this point, I'm glad I was there for her in the way that she needed. I don't regret my daily "wine runs". We both did the best we could...
I admire your kindness and sensible approach.
Most people cannot reach the point that you did.
I reached acceptance of my brother’s drug usage, which of course is different but addiction is addiction no matter what the drug of choice is.
My circumstances were entirely different and I had to cut ties with my brother after trying to help him for so long.
I was at his bedside for several days at the end of life hospice facility. I forgave him and found peace.
Addiction effects the entire family, doesn’t it? We go through so many emotions before finding peace.
Wishing you all the best in life. Take care, my friend.