Help! My mother lives alone and has severely limited vision; she lost the vision in one eye after a bad fall and has no depth perception. Now I suspect she's losing the vision in her good eye. She keeps complaining that it's her glasses, and I take her in to get checked and get new ones, and then she says those don't work; I suspect the docs are doing the best they can and it's time to start facing that she's going to be living like this for good.
The biggest issue is that she doesn't cook for herself or clean up after herself, and blames that on the low vision. She says she can't see well enough to sweep up a spill or wash a dish. This means every time I go over there I have a huge cleaning task that's really overwhelming. Also, I think there are food safety issues; she'll make herself some tuna, for example, then leave it out -- I'm afraid she's going to get sick. How do I get her to face the reality that she can't see well, and we need to face that in deciding what's a safe living situation for her?
Have you talked with your mother about going with her to an eye exam with her opthalmologist? This is a great way to find out exactly what is going on with her vision, and to understand better what she can and can't see and what to expect in the future as her condition progresses.
You can also ask her doctor to refer you to a social worker, who can come to your mother's home and evaluate it for safety and other issues. Many times a social worker has access to programs that can install safety features such as handrails in the bathroom free of charge or for a subsidized rate.
It would also be helpful to set your mother up with rehabilitation training, so she can work with a professional to learn how to live more safely with low vision. A rehabilitation teacher can suggest many low vision aids, such as magnifiers and readers, that can make your parent's life easier and more pleasant despite low vision.
I second what Melanie says. I used to by the Director of Rehabilitation Services for a state Commission for the Blind. We had special teachers who worked with older adults who lost vision. They went into the homes to assess what the person needed to do and then taught them how to do it. They dealt with everything from safety in the kitchen (including food safety), cleaning, cooking, labeling spcies so they didn't use pepper when they meant to use paprika. They helped people sign up for books on tape and other free services such as Honored Citizens card for the transit system.
Check the phone book in your mother's area for the agency for the blind. Even if she is not what you (or she) considers "blind," they often work with people with low vision, just as Melanie says.
If your mother is hesitant, as many people are, to accept assistance, please remind her that these services are things she paid for out of her tax payments. They are not "welfare" or a handout. They are meant to keep people as independent in their home for as long as possible, and to keep the SAFE.
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