<p>My brother in law is blind. He is totally connected to the internet, reads by braille and listens to books on tape.</p>
<p>My dad’s hearing deteriorated as he got older. Although it did not interfere with his independence, he found it frustrating and depressing because it interfered with his interactions with people.</p>
<p>My mother’s eyesight deteriorated as a result of a retinal detachment in one eye and macular degeneration in the other. At the time of her death, she was at the point where she was going to need to give up driving. So her independence was threatened, even though her social life wasn’t.</p>
<p>Life isn’t always fair, but it is always real. My 94 year-old grandmother is suffering macular-degeneration and she has little sight right now…she can’t read books. What she has lost with sight, she seems to have picked up with her other senses…she doesn’t miss much of what is going around her in life and is very alert and active. She lives in her own home and stays busy. She completed her mail in ballot for elections yesterday and knows more about candidates and issues than most voters half her age!</p>
<p>Try this link"</p>
<p><a href=“A Frightening Diagnosis Is Only Start of the Story in ‘Not Fade Away’ and ‘Now I See You’ - The New York Times”>A Frightening Diagnosis Is Only Start of the Story in ‘Not Fade Away’ and ‘Now I See You’ - The New York Times;
<p>i just recommended these two new bks to my mothers audiologist because they deal with two young women’s experience with the diagnosis at a young age of deafness and blindness… Read the review; it is so compeling, ordered the books from inter-library loan. </p>
<p>If you have trouble wth the link, let me know and I will send you the names of the books and the authors. </p>
<p>I just talked to an elderly friend at church (retired FBI and has been retired about 30 years; he lead an interesting life). His wife is deteriorating to the point that some kind of infection will probably take her out - she also has dementia so after having her in hospital and follow up care, now have Hospice and about $5,000/mo to keep up everything else. He said it would take 15 years to run out of money. I expect she will not last very long. He is not worried about running out of money because he is pretty sure he won’t last that many years either. I know his heart will be heavy for the loss of his wife - in limbo now, esp because she is probably not too aware at this point.</p>
<p>I just read the book “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande. Library category 362.175. Very interesting viewpoints on how plans are/should be made when the end of life is a real potential not an abstract future. H and I as physicians already have ideas on our end of life decisions and appreciated the many insights in this book. Many changes over the decades- for the better for the most part. Hospice has evolved to so much more than years ago as have places to live/get care. Something to be read now and used in making decisions hopefully much later for us, often already made for our parents.</p>