Frailty and Aging

I'm back, in my home, the comfort of my city, Surrey, and the country of Beautiful Canada. I spent a short 11 days in the USA, Florida, with my aged mother, who lives alone. She has been in and out of hospitals, and rehabilitation centers for about a month, and told me that if I don't come down she will die. So I went. I found her shrivelled, small, somewhat lost in her memories. She walks with a walker, one of which runs away on her. She lost some weight, I'm told. I went with the sole purpose of bringing her back to Canada with us, to be embraced and cared for by our family. She is also a Canadian citizen, so it would have been relatively easy to put her back on the medical system here after a few months.
She is insulin dependent for her diabetes, two shots, one in the morning and one a longer lasting shot in the evening, that she has self administered for years. I think the lack of energy and zeal for meal preperation has gotten the situation worse, as she would only drink milk for her meals. Driving has also been treacherous for her, and those on the street. My sister has given up on visiting her, for reasons only she can tell. All I heard from my daughter was that elder neglect and abuse are huge in our society. I wanted to honor mom by bringing her here, and helping her.
I learned so much in these few days that I'm sure I will still assimilate in the weeks and months to come. As she lives in the home alone, with the exception of a tenant who works three jobs, has left mom with few people to talk with. The tenant from Turkey would only come home around 3 am especially since the Star Wars movies have opened in the cinemas. He mixes drinks in the bar there, and once home, sleeps till noon, and begins his multiple jobs all over again. Mom had little social interaction, but the sheer fact that she was not alone at nights gave her comfort. She was overwhelmed by my questions, and chatter. She was not used to that. She relied on this absent man much, to take her out for an odd dinner, or pick her up from the hospital, once she has pressed her medical emergency button when she felt ill.  There is an odd connection for this stranger in her home. Her toilet runs, all the time, and she is accustomed to turning off the knob. Water is a costly commodity in Florida. She has not made a call to the plumber to get it fixed. Thankfully, she has a walk in shower, a real plus for old age. Even now, I know of an elderly couple here who are putting in an elevator in their three storey home. to make their home wheelchair accessible.. what a plus.. for our aging population.
I cooked her meals,did much laundry, and cleaning and  went to the doctors with her, she was even admitted for a day to the hospital with low blood sugar. At the time, I did not know what she was experiencing. On our way home from my sisters place, all of a sudden she did not remember where she lived and could not tell me the way back to her house. When I eventually did figure out how to find her house via a landmark of a tall church steeple, we put some medicine under the tongue, so she would not have a heart attack. Her symptoms were similar to that of someone having a stroke. So we took her to emergency. Once she was discharged we went to look at assisted living places, as she indicated she would like to stay in Florida. A few were nice, but incredibly expensive. For the time being, we have hired in home help, while the physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and nurses provide care in her home. One of her many diagnosis is brain stem stroke syndrome.  A long term solution will have to be found for her.  She asked me, if in case her care is not adequate there, if she can come to be with us, and I reassured her of course, that I will come and get her. It is a great honor to look after our parents. No matter what they did wrong, or how many mistakes they may have made, it is a connection with your roots that is unbreakable. May God heal her, and strengthen her body, mind and spirit.