[speaker001:] now then I think that are you there all right do you have any one that has been in a nursing home
[speaker002:] uh-huh yeah I'm here uh well uh we may um my grandmother before very short time um she uh she was just more or less in a in a nursing home for uh recovery from a broken hip
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] because she could receive more medical attention but um that physical therapy was there and whatever but I think in visiting her there
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] um it was very obvious to see that a lot of the people in the nursing home that she was in uh weren't there mentally uh she was probably the only person in the um whole nursing home that uh still had all of her mental facilities about her so that was uh that was very disheartening
[speaker001:] well what do you think can be done about that I mean what can we do
[speaker002:] oh yeah it's really hard I guess I I come from a family of um of uh take care of your elders I I guess um my my dad's mother is an invalid and she lives with my aunt and uncle and they care for her you know all around the clock though she's not uh she doesn't have to receive constant medical attention she because of arthritis she's just unable to get out of bed so I guess you know there's that family commitment um I know that my parents my mother's trying to let my grandmother stay in her house as long as she can um
[speaker001:] well I can remember of course I'm old enough to remember when the family or the church took care of all of this
[speaker002:] yeah right yeah
[speaker001:] we did not have to call on on someone else and I feel no you tell me how you feel about
[speaker002:] yeah well probably I think as long as the person's able to um to understand what's going on around them and I think you know my grandmother right now still able to walk around and she's still able to um to do some things for herself though she gets Meals On Wheels which I think is a great thing because um
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] it saves people from having to prepare her food for her because you worry a little bit about her leaving a stove on or whatever though she does most things very well it still makes a little bit easier for her
[speaker001:] certainly did I worked with an agency in West Texas that
[speaker002:] hum-um
[speaker001:] they it's where they really started this concept of Meals On Wheels
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] and I think it's such a valuable thing for our elderly if they didn't have to you know go into a kitchen
[speaker002:] um-hum right
[speaker001:] my mother hexpired just just a little over a year ago and we had finally she didn't wanna live with either my sister or me
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but we be got found a retirement center for her and it was beautiful and they had all these they didn't even have nursing care there so until as long as mother was you know mobile and got her food and she was with people with whom she enjoyed
[speaker002:] um-hum right yeah that I think you know it's really funny I have two grandmothers still alive and my my one grandmother says that she wants to stay in her house for as long as possible she's like openly told people she's always been very good about knowing yes she's eighty nine and she said that she really would like to stay in her house as long as possible because it's her home
[speaker001:] sure
[speaker002:] but when the time comes um she and she can't do things and she has to be cared for or whatever she would prefer and she's actually said this to move into some type of community where she has her own apartment uh probably with like a living space and a bedroom with maybe a kitchenette
[speaker001:] yes sir
[speaker002:] so that if she you know if she wants to fix herself something light she can do that but if she wants to go to a meal she can go down the hallway uh to a room where there's a cafeteria and there's other people there and she can mix with them and talk with them and enjoy their company
[speaker001:] yeah being a widow I find that eating alone is one of the hardest things I have to do
[speaker002:] um-hum yes um-hum
[speaker001:] I have just recently retired and I am finding it extremely hard to adjust to
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] so uh mother had the little kitchenette and she could do all these fine things that she just
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] had had a microwave had to pop her popcorn now this is wonderful but when it came time for a full meal
[speaker002:] right um-hum
[speaker001:] then mother was able to go with people and and enjoy it
[speaker002:] right yeah I think I think that probably until invalids until they're really invalids elderly the elderly are invalids I think that they should be able to interact with other people in in an environment that they choose if they can if the family can afford it I think um and see I know that
[speaker001:] oh I think so too well
[speaker002:] my grandmother would like to stay in her house and my parents actually said you know that they may have to take their end sometime so because you know my grandma actually says who she wants to live with she's pretty you know she lets people know so