david f,

What do you mean when you say "I can still stroke wife".

Are you telling us you strike your wife or that she is a giant cat?

Dear Paul,

Mum also could remember songs from the past.
She knew all the words. She also recognized
me and knew who I was. Yet she thought that
my husband was my driver. "A nice man" as
she described him. She would ask me to bring
her favourite foods at times - like beef
blintzes, herring fillets, potato pancakes,
or potato pudding (Kugel), and some fish dishes.
Mum was in a nursing home and the food was quite
bland. However, she still remembered her favourite
food even the recipes. It was a bit problematic
though - she had trouble swallowing - but I'd still
make them for her - in small dosees.

It made her happy.

Hi Foxy,

Don't get me started on aged care facilities in Australia. My wife when she first arrived in Oz took a supervisory position in an Aged Care Facility in Sydney, she had over 20 years experience back in NZ in such institutions, for both the aged and mentally impaired. On a return trip to NZ, we visited on of Te's old "homes", she was mobbed by the folks there. They insisted Te gets the guitar, and all 42 of them into the big play room for sing song, two hours later it was lunch time. Te could not believe some of the practices that the Sydney facility engaged in. Just a small example, checking on the meal prep in the first few days, she found an employee in the kitchen, using a 'Mulie' (puree) leftovers in a large pot on the stove top for the evening meal. In this concoction were the cleanouts of the fridge, leftover mince, fried eggs, mashed potato, vegs, etc depending on the dominant vegetable that determined the colour of the "stew", orange from pumpkin it seems. She soon learnt that profit and little else was the driving force of that institution. Eight acute/palliative care rooms, for those on their last legs, subsidised by the taxpayer, something like $1200/day. Those beds were never empty, the doctors/owners made sure of that, as one patient passed on, another was put in their place. BTW these operators had 5 such institutions around the burbs. The wife moved on the the Children's Hospital, there it was caulk and chees, when comparing the two.

You have told me your Mum's facility was much better than that, and we must be thankful that it was so. Unfortunately many old people are not so lucky.

Paul1405,

Are you aware that most of the new large aged care facilities being built or still on the drawing board are to be built, owned and operated by the Chinese?

And one day in the future they could be converted to re-education centres after China has taken total control of Australia.

Dear Paul,

We visited mum daily. So we kept watch over her
and the facility. We got involved with other family
members there, and we all watched out for each
other. We also made friends with the staff - including
management. I think that made a big difference.

I also worked there part-time as a volunteer and got involved
with the residents as well.