[speaker001:] so what do you think about caring for older folks Dale
[speaker002:] well I think um the elderly is a really neat population to care for
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] they've got a lot of special needs and at the same time um majority of them don't want to give up the independence that they have
[speaker001:] right very definitely
[speaker002:] and so you've got a real balance to make there
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] what about you
[speaker001:] well I'm thinking about it more in terms of my parents that are starting to get old They aren't really that old but they are sort of wearing out My mamma is a dialysis patient
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and she is only about sixty four but she's had some pretty close calls and my daddy has to drive her to dialysis now and so she's phasing out and but she's also a very very very independent person and doesn't like having having people uh not being able to do things for herself when she wants to
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh I know they certainly don't want to be in a nursing home but my daddy keeps talking about it I don't I couldn't possibly couldn't never see him in a nursing home and my grand daddy also doesn't like wouldn't want to be in a nursing home he's ninety I think right on ninety right now
[speaker002:] oh really
[speaker001:] and he's living by himself My grand mamma died a couple of years ago
[speaker002:] oh okay
[speaker001:] so but he's you know as long as you can have the families take care of the people I'd like to see them stay at home
[speaker002:] yeah but it gets hard my my grandmother is in her mid eighties
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and she's uh suffering from a low uh well uh progressive Alzheimer's disease
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] so she doesn't remember anybody
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and uh she remembers things but they are things back whenever she was real young
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and so with she was living by herself but my uh uncle has moved in with her to take care of her and it's creating a lot of problems
[speaker001:] right especially for your uncle I bet
[speaker002:] oh yes yes
[speaker001:] now a friend of mine who was studying social work here in Philadelphia worked for an adult day care program for mostly for patient's with Alzheimer Do they have anything like that in Dallas
[speaker002:] in Dallas um yeah I've I've heard of several things and they are really neat programs to be able to do if you can link up with them but sometimes it's hard to either find the connections to get them in or uh to be able to get them there for the day program and pick them up
[speaker001:] right So they are pretty limited
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] oh another interesting thing another good friend of mine who got her degree in social gerontology well had a job for a while where she went around to to folks and had them sort of kicked them in the pants to make them take good care of their older relatives
[speaker002:] oh really
[speaker001:] to make sure that they would take care of their responsibilities
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] I don't think that was mainly with Alzheimer's patients but just patients people in general who were not as independent as they use to be
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum well it's it's it's a really day care programs are really neat you know and if the people if the people are able and and can get up and move and everything like that that is one of the best things to do but I think the hardest thing to do is whenever you've got a person who's mentally very alert and active and their body just hasn't kept up with them
[speaker001:] uh-huh right
[speaker002:] and I think that's in a way somewhere some an area where some of the day care uh programs have left off because you really kind of have to be a little bit mobile to be able to do those
[speaker001:] uh-huh right to uh get there and to participate in the activities
[speaker002:] right cause I know there's one not too far from from me here in Dallas uh and they have ceramics and pottery and needle work
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and sports
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] but if your vision is gone and you have arthritis real badly
[speaker001:] that's true You can't play those things
[speaker002:] yeah you can't do it
[speaker001:] but you can sing songs and uh
[speaker002:] well that's true
[speaker001:] tell stories about the old times I guess you know you were talking about you're was it your grand mother
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] that was having Alzheimer
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh being able to tell old stories You can perhaps get a group of people that aren't too far along with Alzheimer talking about the old times and enjoying it themselves that way
[speaker002:] and they love to recollect I mean they just you know and they will just go on and on with these stories and they have such a memory
[speaker001:] do they like to listen to other people recollect though
[speaker002:] my grandmother doesn't she she wants to tell to tell you about her story over again so
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] which is fine you know so
[speaker001:] well that is good because we