caring for the elderly during shtf?

[subprep]

This is a subject I don't see alot of information on. Recently my husband and I have realized that we are going to be the ones caring for at least one elderly relative (that are not our parents) and possibly another. Not necessarily during the apocalypse but now in our daily lives. I've been giving alot... A LOT of thought on our society and how we treat elders as disposable inconveniences. One thing about my job that is interesting is all the different cultures I get to come into contact with and I can tell you all from experience that American culture is positively shameful when it comes to the elderly.

old people are a wealth of knowledge but I worry that in a collapse scenario they will all die mainly due to lack of meds.
Any ideas/thoughts on this

 

[Lurker66]

we took care of my wifes grandmother. She passed last year at 93. Had her for 12 years. Was very trying at times and in the end very gratifying. Im glad we took on the responcibility.

As for taking care of them during shtf......just depends on how bad shtf is.

 

[SomeCallMeMom]

I agree that American culture doesn't put much stock into older generations. It is shameful.

I think it really depends on the person and how well they've taken care of themselves throughout their life. In some (NOT all) cases, diseases that can be managed with medicine could have been prevented in the first case by regular exercise, good diet and keeping your mind active. Americans are pretty soft from a general perspective, so I do think that many people (young and old) will die from the lack of medicines.

The best thing to do is if you are taking care of someone who needs regular meds, try to get a script where you can get a 90 day supply & reorder as soon as possible so you can have a bit of a stockpile. I'd also research alternate methods of controlling it so you've got a back up plan in case you are unable to get them the medications they need in a SHTF scenario. I did this when I had severe blood clots (genetic issue) and was on blood thinners. I figured out that a daily regiment of aspirin could manage it and incorporated foods that are natural blood thinners such as onions and garlic while watching my Vit K intake from others such as broccoli, kale, etc.

I took care of my great grandmother when I was young. She had severe dementia and was very, very mean. The hardest part was the life adjustments we had to make to care for her. If possible, enlist help from others. It will help tremendously to be able to share the responsibility. There are great resources out there, you just have to search for them.

 

[subprep]

fortunately we are not having to take care of anyone that is super sick, diabetes and parkinsons but not dimensia or anything its just kind of messed up because one of them has a kid that won't lift their finger to help since the money ran out sort of situation and the other one is an Aunt with no children but was very much like a mother to my husband. Both my husband and myself had weird childhoods, neither of our parents raised us, instead we were either shuttled about in his case or in a stable place but insane caretaker in my case. We are just kind of realizing that we are the ones who are going to step up and take care of business.

 

[turkeyrun]

fortunately we are not having to take care of anyone that is super sick, diabetes and parkinsons but not dimensia or anything its just kind of messed up because one of them has a kid that won't lift their finger to help since the money ran out sort of situation and the other one is an Aunt with no children but was very much like a mother to my husband. Both my husband and myself had weird childhoods, neither of our parents raised us, instead we were either shuttled about in his case or in a stable place but insane caretaker in my case. We are just kind of realizing that we are the ones who are going to step up and take care of business.

Kid won't help. Karma can be a byotch. Remember him well and act accordingly if SHTF and he comes begging.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Kid won't help. Karma can be a byotch. Remember him well and act accordingly if SHTF and he comes begging.

This ... a bazillon times over.

 

[subprep]

Dont worry I will remember her. I just about blew my lid when another family member told me that she was actually paying her daughter and son in law to come over and mow her lawn for her. I would be embarrassed and ashamed of myself I had a mother who had suffered from multiple strokes and was on an extremely tight income to expect payment for mowing a yard. a small yard at that!

 

[SomeCallMeMom]

Yup. What goes around surely does come around. My grandparents passed away a little over a year ago. The son who hadn't helped while they were sick was sorely disappointed... especially since he had already told everyone that they could now say they knew a millionaire.

 

[Wheel Gun]

Currently, we are directly caring for two elderly parents. It brings both joy and pain.

In a SHTF scenario, the elderly and infirm will live a live similar to the one they would have lived back in pioneer days. While it seems cruel to lose access to modern drugs and care, it's how about 90% of the people in the world live right now. We'll do what we can do and that's about it.

 

[Old Fart]

My folks are long gone, my in-laws still have 10 years probably.
We all keep an eye on them.
Actually we live the farthest from them and it's only maybe 5 miles.
My sister in-law and brother in-laws live right next door to them.
They tend to take care of all the day to day stuff.
My wife takes care of all the medical/age stuff.

I hope things change in the future for the baby-boomers.
We really spoiled our kids and grandkids.
I think mine will feed and water us a couple times a week but I don't think some of our friends have much hope.