Elder Abuse

I was speaking to a woman who was 80 years of today. She was in love with living and the world. She was living in a small apartment across from me at one point. She had to move to an assisted living facility because she just couldn't do it anymore by herself. As she was moving she told me her story. After I heard it my heart sunk...and I wondered if we have truly lost our responsibilities to our elder population. Have we really just forgotten them? Have we really turned into a society where we lock up our older people into buildings and facilities because we don't want them around anymore, because they are an inconvenience? Maybe the only fear of getting old is the fear of what the young people are going to do to us when we get there.

This is her story:

She moved to this Tampa bay area Florida town back in the 60's. She was a spry 40 year old, and had her whole life in front of her...as she put it. She bought a house in a swampy area, but the little dirt road to the inter coastal was a nice little walk, and it was nice being so close to the beach. Because she couldn't see the water, she got her house for a really cheap price. Every day she would get off of work, walk down the little dirt path, meet up with some people that lived on the other side of the path because they had money, and they would all sip wine and watch the sunset.

Soon her daughter graduated and moved away to college. Her daughter had lived in a few big cities and then she came home. By that time, my neighbor had begin to get sick so it was nice that her daughter was there to help her. She got back into better health, and her daughter's boyfriend moved in. She didn't like it, but she felt she owed her daughter something. Her daughter got pregnant, and told her mother that her house was perfect for the 3 of them, and she was shoved into a nice apartment. This sounded nice to my neighbor, especially since the mortgage payments were more expensive than her small social security check and her small retirement check. In 1 day, her entire house was loaded up, and put into an apartment. The apartment was 3 doors down, and her daughter saw her once every three to six months. She still isn't moved in because she has to wait for someone to lift the boxes for her. When she asked for help, her daughter and the daughter's husband were happy to help. Before she knew it, her daughter enrolled her into an assisted living facility. I didn't know what happened to my neighbor, she just up and disappeared. Soon, there was a yard sale and all of her things were sold off at ridiculous prices.

A few months later, I was volunteering at a local assisted living facility, or retirement home, or what they're technically called: a convalescence home. As I helped with the serving of food, and cleaning the place up; I saw my neighbor. She still walks 3 miles a day, but around the home is all she's permitted. She could live by herself, but the lawyers told her she has to stay in the home. Her daughter has seen her once in a year. How sad!

Is this our fate my fellow readers? I hope not, but it is the fate for many many people locked away so their families don't have to deal with them.