Wednesday, September 18, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Of a certain age
Seeking guidance to navigate aging
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
The adage that getting old
isn9t for sissies is more than
an amusing old saw.
Good medical care,
advanced technology and
healthier lifestyles all make
it possible to live longer
and stay active deep into
our senior years 4 but old
age comes with some big
challenges.
A senior or a family car-
ing for a senior will inevi-
tably run up against a time
when they need help. And it
pays to be ready with a plan
and a roadmap 4 before a
crisis forces your hand.
Bend Senior Care man-
agement provides a range
of services that help fami-
lies navigate the challenges
of dealing with medical and
financial systems to maxi-
mize quality of life and peace
of mind in the sunset years.
They offer everything from
medical patient advocacy to
assessment of financial pic-
ture to life-enrichment activ-
ity and socialization.
<These people have done
so much for our country,=
said Jennifer Rogers, certi-
fied care manager with Bend
Senior Care Management.
<People are living so much
longer, and they9re falling
through the cracks of the sys-
tem. We are their advocates.=
Rogers notes that it is
much better to seek help
when things are going rela-
tively well. An aging care
professional can do an
assessment that covers medi-
cal and psychological needs
and evaluate such questions
as whether they have a trust
and advance directive and
who has power of attorney.
That said, Rogers knows
that many times Bend Senior
Care Management is going to
get the call when things are
dire.
<It9s so stressful to plan
in a crisis situation, but it
does happen,= she said. <The
majority of times we are
planning in a crisis situation.=
Caring for an older parent
who may need to move into
assisted living is challenging
under any circumstances and
nearly overwhelming if fam-
ily members live a distance
away. The goal for Rogers is
to preserve the elder9s dignity
in a situation where they may
feel that so many things are
being taken away from them.
<We try our best to let
that person live with as
much autonomy as possible,=
Rogers said.
Rogers noted that Bend
Senior Care Management
recently helped a family in
the Sisters area where there
were issues with a home-
care provider who was tak-
ing financial advantage
How do you know you need an
aging life care professional?
When caregiving for
an aging family member
becomes overwhelming, it
may be time to contact an
aging life care professional.
You may need such assis-
tance if the person you are
caring for:
" Has multiple medical or
psychological issues.
" Is unable to live safely
in their current environment.
" Is not pleased with
current care providers and
requires advocacy.
" Is confused about their
financial or legal situation.
" Has limited or no fam-
ily support.
Or if your family:
" Has just become
involved with helping the
individual and needs direc-
tion about available services.
" Is either <burned out=
or confused about care
solutions.
" Has limited time and/
or expertise in dealing with
the individual9s chronic-care
needs and does not live close
by.
" Is at odds regarding care
decisions.
" Needs education and/
or direction in dealing with
behaviors associated with
dementia.
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351 W. HOOD AVE., SISTERS
of an elderly woman who
lived alone locally. The rela-
tive with power of attorney
lived elsewhere and sought
help from Bend Senior Care
Management.
Bend Senior Care
Management notified author-
ities to investigate the care-
giver, activated a long-term
care policy the family had
in place and got the woman
moved into assisted living.
<About a month ago,
we took her over to Eugene
to the Hult Center to see
the 8Wicked9 production,=
Rogers recalled.
Sadly, the woman fell
and her health declined
severely. Bend Senior Care
Management coordinated
hospice care and the woman
recently died.
However, Rogers takes
comfort in the knowledge
that her last days were much
better than they had been or
might otherwise have been.
<She went out with such
a better quality of life,= she
said. <She was happy at the
end.=
Such are the rewards that
come with what can be a very
challenging field.
<You have to have a con-
nection with seniors,= Rogers
said. <Some people are kid
people and some are senior
people.=
For herself, Rogers loves
interacting with a genera-
tion of elders who contrib-
uted mightily to their world
4 and she is proud to act as
their advocate.
Of a certain
AGE
Sue Stafford
Columnist
Solving the
end-of-life
puzzle
I really enjoy doing jig-
saw puzzles, studying the
shapes, finding the ones with
straight edges first, group-
ing by color, and seeing the
image slowly emerge as one
piece locks into another.
When I find that elusive
piece that holds an entire
section together, I experi-
ence a small sense of accom-
plishment, which keeps me
going until the whole puzzle
is complete.
The biggest puzzle I
know, and the one that most
people don9t want to take
out of the box, is the one
about the end of life. Death
is a puzzle every single one
of us will face, but most
people will put off talking
about it as long as possible.
We can choose to address
the unavoidable when we
have plenty of time and all
our faculties. If not, we, and
21
especially our loved ones,
will most likely face a cha-
otic, stressful situation when
our time is up.
When death comes for
me, he won9t wait until I9ve
pulled together my exit strat-
egy. I9ll be gone, and the cir-
cumstances surrounding my
death may not have been to
my liking as far as where I
met death 4 hospital, home,
or somewhere else. The
medical personnel may or
may not have administered
life-prolonging treatments
that I did or did not want.
I don9t want to be like
the woman who, rather than
leaving clear instructions
and written documents, left
a note for her family simply
saying, <Sorry I left such a
mess.= I don9t want that to
be my last message to my
loved ones.
There is a plethora of
helpful information out
there, particularly since the
advent of the Internet. Just
go online and search <end of
life.= There are enough web-
sites and links related to the
subject, it will seem like you
just started a 5,000-piece
puzzle that is round and all
blue.
Don9t give up. Help is
available to assist getting
your affairs in order. Before
starting the process, take
time to answer some impor-
tant questions, the answers
to which will help guide you
in a number of decisions that
will need to be made.
What do I want the rest
of my life to look like? What
are my core values? Who
am I as a person? What and
See PUZZLE on page 23
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