By Mark Harvey

I had planned to talk a bit more about Alzheimer’s today, but something else came up — something that comes up every now and again — something from a local elder that looks a lot like this:

“Hi, Mark — It has come to my attention, just in the last few days, that some single senior women are being forced by their family members to leave their house or apartment. Never mind that they have been functioning quite well there for the past few years — not setting fire to the drapes, burning their food, or tripping over their dog or cat. If the woman has any significant amount of money, or assets, the plot thickens.

“I was just talking with a friend at the senior center yesterday. Her children have decided that she should no longer drive (despite no accidents or backing into posts, etc.), and that she should come and live with them. She doesn’t want to!

I’m sure, among the plethora of agencies, etc., on the Peninsula that provide assistance for seniors in so many ways, there must be an advocacy group — or someone — to help protect the rights of women in these situations.”

Okay, let me begin by going to the end: Family members have no legal authority to make Mom do anything she doesn’t want to do — The End. Even a power of attorney, a durable power of attorney or a full guardianship can’t make Mom start, stop or move if Mom doesn’t want to start, stop or move. In fact, a doctor’s “order,” prescription or advice is equally meaningless if Mom says the magic word. And do we know what the magic word is?

“No.”

Now, here’s the rest of the story: Mom almost never says “no.” She’ll hem and haw and stall and “think about it” and not answer the phone and, and, and — but when it comes right down to it, Mom almost always caves in.

Maybe Mom caves out of love and loyalty to her children, to keep peace in the family. Or maybe she decides that her help and/or her money really could help “the poor dears,” so what’s a mother to do?

Or maybe she caves just so all the pressure will stop.

Or maybe she agrees to start, stop or move because secretly, in her heart of hearts, she suspects that they’re right — and maybe they are.

Have you ever been in a situation when you knew darned good and well that you needed help, but you were too proud to ask for it? Don’t lie to me — you have, too! — and so have I. Why? Because we’re stupid?

Well, maybe — but more likely it was because we didn’t want to admit that we couldn’t do “it” alone, because that makes us feel less capable, less independent, less effective, less able to manage an unmanageable world, less young — just less. And we don’t like that, so we don’t ask; and we usually suffer the consequences of our pride.

So it goes on planet Earth.

But flip that coin and be the “kids”: This is Mom — all loving, all knowing, all powerful and always able to handle “it” — until she isn’t. Or they think she isn’t. Maybe it was a fall, or one silly mistake, or one forgotten medical appointment, or one too many physical complaints on the phone, or, or, or — and here they come to “rescue” Mom, just like Mom rescued them a million times before. “She took care of me, so I’ll take care of her.” Charge! And they descend on the situation — on Mom — like a bat out of Handbasket Land. To the rescue!

Help strikes again.

Yes, sadly, sometimes it’s about greed, control or revenge. Or maybe it’s just that the kids are busy people with families of their own who don’t have time to fool around with Mom half a world away, “so just come be here where I can keep an eye on you!”

So Mom caves.

Now, if it really is about abuse, exploitation, etc., there are legal resources that can be brought to bear rather suddenly. But, happily, it’s rarely that; Mom just caved, and she would have caved even if I’d been standing next to her screaming at the kids about her legal rights, because it isn’t about legal rights; it’s about families.

So Mom caves.

Will Mom be safer if she starts, stops, moves or does whatever else the kids want? Maybe. Probably. Love is often about “safe”; and sometimes, that really is what needs to happen, particularly if there are issues around potential dementia, memory loss, etc. But the fact is that not everybody 60 or better is demented.

So, Mom proceeds to start, stop or move, and at that exact moment she stops being “Mom!” and becomes Mom, the one who can’t take care of herself, the one who needs to be taken care of. And she will live down to that expectation, because that’s now how she sees herself.

Mom didn’t just “cave,” my friends, she “gave up” — and we all know where it’s going to go from there.

What will happen next is that I’m going to hear from a lot of the “kids” about how whatever they did/are doing/wish they could do/tried to do was the “right thing to do,” and I won’t argue about any of it, because it’s not my place to say — and in all likelihood, they’re right. I can only hope this will be one of the times when “safe” was worth it.

Goodbye, Mom.

Mark Harvey is the director of information and assistance for the Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He can be reached by email at harvemb@dshs.wa.gov; by phone at 360-532-0520 in Aberdeen, 360-942-2177 in Raymond, or 360-642-3634; or through Facebook at Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information &Assistance.