My 92 yr. old mom moved in with one of her daughters 3 yrs. ago. as her family felt she should not be living alone which she had very actively done for more than 20 yrs. There were signs of aging such as memory loss, but her general physical health was fairly good then. She has some respiratory difficulty, can't walk very far without having shortness of breathe. Since her moving in with her daughter, most of her children see a definite and progressive change in mom's ability to remember most things from one minute to the other. Mom also exhibits a fair amount of child like behavior and is easily confused following directions etc. Although not technically diagnosed at this time, most of us refer to her condition as 2nd stage dementia. Mom lives in Penna., and likes to visit her son in Tucson, but for the past year and a half, this has not been possible unless she was accompanied by one of her adult children. Mom continues to want to make this trip to AZ., but finding an adult to go with her has become difficult.
Finally, here comes the "question". One of mom's daughters thinks it would be okay for her 15 year old grandson to serve as the "adult" and accompany mom on this (basically), 8 hour air travel trip with a plane change, etc.
I,(the son in Tucson), do not agree with my sister's suggestion the her 15 year old grandson should be handed this responsibility. He is a mannerly young man, home schooled, and basically a typical 15 yr. old young boy. I am also at a point with mom's visit's to suggest, I don't think she should come at all at this point because I suspect this is a routine that she enjoyed and wants to do it because. I want to help my sister and me view someone else' perspective, I would welcome replies. Thank you.
Walt
more
