[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] do you want to start
[speaker001:] yes on uh taking care of the elderly do you have an older relative that you are concerned with right now
[speaker002:] I just have one grandmother that's that's alive and I'm she's I think in her low eighties but she lives by herself and takes care of herself and stuff and she's healthy
[speaker001:] I see that's very important
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] I tell you I have uh faced this whole subject myself because my mother is not quite that old but
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] she uh has Parkinson's and uh
[speaker002:] hm
[speaker001:] we tried taking care of her in the house and it got to where it wasn't safe and then uh
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] we had to to uh try different things and finally she's in a nursing home
[speaker002:] hm did you hear they're coming closer to a cure for Parkinson's
[speaker001:] um I hope so
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] because it really is a bad disease
[speaker002:] because a lot of people in uh I think a country like Guam or something have it so
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] um they're studying those people and coming closer to a cure
[speaker001:] well they know what causes it uh and you know it's a an insufficiency in the brain
[speaker002:] what um-hum I think it was it was on the news and they mentioned something like that some chemical
[speaker001:] yeah but uh so far they haven't uh that I know of they haven't figured out why there's a deficiency and
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] the medicine they give them is supposed to replace it but it it doesn't
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] it also has side affects
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] how do you feel about having to place someone in a nursing home
[speaker002:] well I hope I can take care of my parents someday I hope I can afford to
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] um um I guess it depends on what the nursing home's like because there's some very nice ones that I wouldn't mind checking into it myself
[speaker001:] hm well well
[speaker002:] and
[speaker001:] I think another part of it it depends on whether you are uh physically able to do it
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] to give them the care they need
[speaker002:] uh-huh that's true if you have to work you know you don't have a choice
[speaker001:] well and then too uh I found that even if I didn't work
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] I couldn't hold up to taking care of mother twenty four hours a day
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] because
[speaker002:] it's hard work
[speaker001:] it just uh uh you know she couldn't do anything by herself and uh
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] her mind wonders and she wonders
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and uh I've tried it on weekends and stuff and I my feeling on it
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] is that the nursing home is there if you need it
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but you hope you don't need it
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and I think your health is important as important as theirs
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] um have you ever thought about what uh kind of things you would look for in a nursing home if you ever had to choose
[speaker002:] well I guess just a nice caring environment for one thing
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and just cheery atmosphere um I've gone to this nursing home over on um Forest Lane and Greenville out there
[speaker001:] um yes
[speaker002:] um just for like field trips I'm a teacher and I take my students to nursing homes because um
[speaker001:] yeah good
[speaker002:] we study old age and stuff and um there's this one particular one over there that I've visited that was really nice and the director would hug the
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] elderly people you know hello and um we the days we were there we played games with them and just real nice atmosphere real cheerful atmosphere and it's a gorgeous nursing home too
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum that's good
[speaker002:] um
[speaker001:] they love the the older people love to be around children too
[speaker002:] um-hum and the kids I have to like drag them out of there too so
[speaker001:] isn't that great
[speaker002:] uh-huh I think it's mutual
[speaker001:] yeah that's great
[speaker002:] so like a grandparent or something
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] so um I don't know if I could
[speaker001:] course there's a
[speaker002:] um put my parents in a place like that I wouldn't feel bad
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know
[speaker001:] well I think the worst worst thing about having to do it is the guilt you do feel
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and I think the first thing is you have to be absolutely sure that's what you need to do
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and uh I know in in my situation we had to consider nursing care and uh
[speaker002:] um-hum that's another thing medical
[speaker001:] the doctor available and the fact that it's clean and you also have to you have to uh pay attention to how much it costs too
[speaker002:] um-hum um yeah I bet because it can probably cost a fortune
[speaker001:] um-hum it it can and it costs more than most people make in a year
[speaker002:] hm
[speaker001:] but uh
[speaker002:] does insurance help cover it at all or
[speaker001:] there is a special insurance you can buy
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] for nursing home insurance in fact my husband and I take it
[speaker002:] hm
[speaker001:] because we hope we never have to use it
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but uh it would uh take care of an interim period until you know if it was a long-term care until Medicaid would kick in
[speaker002:] um-hum do you have children or
[speaker001:] because Medicaid uh pardon
[speaker002:] do you have children
[speaker001:] yes I have four
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] um-hum but uh
[speaker002:] so you have um plenty of people to take care of you some day
[speaker001:] well um