My friend's mother suffered a serious fall in early December 2007. She broke and separated both shoulders, among other injuries. At nearly 90, this little human dynamo has worked very hard to recuperate and fully recover. Her goal has been to drive again, and last week, she did just that! However, her hands are weak from the fall, and surely her reflexes are not what they used to be. But drive she does!
My grandmother relinquished her car four years ago (at age 91), after a 3-month stay in the nursing home to rehab after a fall. She truly does seem better now at 95 than she did four years ago, but certainly not able to drive and cope with traffic and split-second decisions. Last September, she told my mother, "If I had a car again, I could drive myself lots of places and you all wouldn't have to cart me around."
My maternal grandfather fought tooth and nail to continue driving, and we had to sort of "circumvent" him by thinking ahead and making plans to drive him everywhere. On the other hand, my great aunt willingly gave up her car, declaring she was no longer going to drive. It is rarely that easy!
So... the question this week is... how have you handled the issue of your senior's driving?
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