Waiting for a crisis - one thing we'll all do sometime

Speaking with a friend last night I realized that there is one basic thing that nearly all of us share when it comes to dealing with elderly family  - that is the waiting for some crisis event which forces a change for our loved one.  We wait for the fall that puts mom or dad in the hospital and then the nursing home.  It's the stroke or heart attack that signals the start of their decline.   Or, it's the car accident that means the loss of a drivers license and cancellation of insurance.

Elder care professionals call these "sentinal events" - some event that is often a tragedy and that means a big change in the living conditions of our loved one.   Most often the outcome of these events means drastic change or a tragic outcome  Think of the stories we read of elderly people found wedged for days between their toilet and the wall or someone who's fallen and never got up.  After waiting for so long we can only react to the circumstance; there are only a few options left by the time an event occurs.

Why do we end up waiting?  It's because we have no other option.  The parent/elder is not sick enough to be hospitalized or might have a chronic condition.  She or he might be right-minded enough to say "leave me alone" or there just are no funds to help provide any assistance to prevent the incident.   We WANT to respect our elders so we respect their need for independence. We don't want to hurt their feelings or pride or our relationships so we let things be.  We know something will happen, it's usually only a matter of time.  We wait and wait then deal with the outcome.

The waiting is hard.  We see the decline, the weakness, the potential; we know something is coming but we don't know what or when.  We grow anxious, we get stressed, angry or frustrated but there's nothing we can do.    In some ways the waiting is easier because if we let things go long enough the options for our elder are limited.  Their condition may be such that a nursing home or hospice is the only option.  I have to ask myself if this is so bad.   We might do things that prolong the life of our elders but what about the quality of that life?  For me, I'm glad my Mom was in her home for years and admitted to a nursing home late in life.  She was surrounded by her family, her favorite sentimental things, her own roses and friendly neighbors.   The house didn't get as clean as I'd like, the lawn was under-watered and the flowers often gangly but she didn't care. She was simply happy to be there.   So I had to be satisfied that she was content and worry less about the time she had left.  We chose to put her immediate happiness first.  It was hard and I often worried but looking back, I'd do it again the very same way.
What is a sentinal event , when should I move mom dad , mom doesn't want to ove what do i do , dad doesn't want to move what do i do ,dad won't stop driving what do i do