Your most powerful weapon is patience. If they tell you a story twice, act like you’ve never heard it before. If they forget a word, allow them the chance to figure out what it was rather than completing the sentence for them. Dignity usually correlates with the ability to converse.
Slower Healing and “Linger-on” Illnesses
Don’t you think it’s strange that when they get a small scratch from something on their arm while gardening, it persists after several weeks? Or even that a common cold leaves them completely bedridden for up to a month?
One of the changes the body experiences when aging is known as “immunosenescence.” In essence, the immune system fails to react as quickly to infections as it used to. Not only do the “first responders” slow down in reaching a site of injury, but also the skin itself becomes thin and less well-supplied with blood, thus making any wounds heal slower.
This trend is also indicative of a person’s general lifestyle: slower healing can lead to a fear of falling or getting hurt, which in turn leads to less movement and more isolation. It’s a cycle that feeds itself.