Summer visits or family reunions are a wonderful time to assess how Mom and Dad are doing
By Jordan Ross
Founder, Collaborative Senior Care
Concerned about loved ones as they age? Summer vacations and family reunions are often a time for happy reunions with aging parents, in-laws, aunts, and uncles you haven’t seen in months, or perhaps even years.
A face-to-face visit is the perfect time to assess how your loved one is doing because you are able to look for visual clues that indicate signs of decline that you would not be able to glean through a telephone call.
There are 10 signs to watch for. I encourage you to ask questions and provide your own anecdotes and answers.
Family members are encouraged to watch for the 10 signs that are a cause for concern:
• Weight loss
• Not maintaining his or her personal appearance and hygiene
• Not remembering when to take medication and not knowing what condition each medication is treating
• Not eating nutritious meals or not eating at all
• Food in the refrigerator or on the shelves that is past its expiration date or molding
• Not maintaining the home by doing chores such as cleaning bathrooms, washing floors, or regular vacuuming
• Not paying bills. Unpaid or unopened piles of bills are a red flag
• Not taking proper care of a pet
• Avoiding or having difficulty ascending or descending steps
• Limiting contact with or lacking an interest in the outside world
A single, isolated sign doesn’t necessarily mean your loved one is in trouble. Sometimes you can just feel a change in a person even if you can’t articulate it. If there are numerous signs and you believe that your loved one may be having difficulty, you need to address it with your loved one and other close family members.
Need help? Reach out.
Collaborative Senior Care helps families find the best senior care living options. Additionally, we act as the hub to connect families with a continuum of senior care services and work closely with a wide range of senior care health and financial professionals. With no-cost service and nationwide coverage, CSC helps every step of the way.
The company takes a personal interest in each client and provides white-glove treatment to managing your needs.
For more information, visit www.collaborativeseniorcare.com or text the author at 617-686-6805.
About the Author: Jordan Ross, the founder and CEO of Collaborative Senior Care. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in economics and attended MIT Sloan’s Executive Entrepreneurial Development Program. He was inspired to create CSC after confronting repeated obstacles in finding assisted-living communities for his grandparents.
