In 1930, the average life expectancy in Canada was 60, in 1960 it was 70. Today it's 82.
The earliest age of late onset dementia is 65, they are usually cared for, for 4 years, before institutionalization.
So in 1960, we were looking after parents who were unable to look after themselves, but who still knew who we were. That's often not the case today.
In 1960, we often had one stay at home partner, and they could look after an elderly parent. But, the thing was, if most people are institutionalized at 69 or later, and life expectancy was only 70, it was easier to look after parents, because they were still thinking straight.
If you could be institutionalized at 69, and live to 82, it would be much harder to care for them at home, for 13 years.
Most people aren't capable of looking after someone who has had Alzheimer's for years.
That doesn't mean that we shouldn't spend time visiting and caring for them, just like they cared for us, when we were young.
But it does mean that a loving home environment is often not possible. Which I find so sad.
The mother of a friend of mine had Alzheimer's, his wife quit her job to look after her, and then my friend took early retirement, because there was no way, that one person could supervise his mother 24 hours a day.
He was adamant, that he make his mother as happy, as she had made him, and he didn't think a memory home could do that.
In today's society it's pretty rare to be able to take that time off.
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