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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm dealing with this with my childless aunt now, and it is really tough even if you have family that cares about you.  I would recommend moving into a continuum of care community when you are still definitely at the independent living stage so that there are supports around you if/when you start to falter mentally or physically.  Hopefully then you will have relationships with people who know you and can see that it is time for you to move to assisted living or skilled nursing, and the pathway to the higher level of care is already in place.

Also, all of you saying "I'm just going to kill myself," are sticking your heads in the sand.  It's not a plan, and if you decline to the point where you think that would be necessary, you will have gone past the point where it is possible.  My aunt has said that she's going to kill herself when it gets really bad, and putting aside that it breaks my heart, the truth is that she doesn't have the mental capacity to do it at this point.  Cognitive decline includes a decline in executive function, and it is very difficult for someone with compromised executive function to decide anything, let alone something of such importance, and then plan it and execute the plan.  Saying you're not going to plan for being incapacitated in old age because you'll kill yourself when the time comes is like saying you are not going to save for retirement because you plan to work until the day you die.  It's just a way of putting off facing some difficult realities.  [/quote]g

Well, all the people who are talking about saving scads of money to pay for services isn't realistic either.  [b]Not everyone without family is rich.  And continuing care costs more than many of us make -- let alone what we can save at best[/b]. So it may be putting off so e difficult realities -- but not all of us have the wherewithal to save for decent solutions. So we're screwed. [/quote]

No kidding, my grandmother’s very modest facility costs $7000 a month. [/quote]

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