在流行病中為老年人帶來歡樂和關懷的9種方法

在流行病中為老年人帶來歡樂和關懷的9種方法

The author's grandmother, Felisa Mercene, 92, with the summer harvest from her son's garden in La Mirada, Calif.

作者的祖母、92歲的費利莎·賽勒正在加州拉米拉達她兒子的花園里收獲夏季的莊稼。

After I shared my family's experience in trying to care for my 92-year-old grandmother in the pandemic, I wanted to know: How do we help older people feel safe and comfortable — and happy — in these times?

在我分享了我的家人在流行病期間努力照顧我92歲的祖母的經(jīng)歷后，我想知道：在這個時代，我們?nèi)绾螏椭夏耆烁械桨踩?、舒適和幸福?

I asked because I worried that my grandma was feeling lonely and isolated in the pandemic. So I asked three experts to share some advice on how to help. And I invited readers to share their tips, too.

我問，因為我擔心我祖母在流行病中會感到孤獨和孤立。所以我請了三位專家分享一些如何提供幫助的建議。我也邀請讀者分享他們的秘訣。

Dozens of readers wrote in. One piece of advice I took to heart — don't think of older people as a "problem" you have to "solve."

幾十位讀者來信。我把一條建議牢記在心——不要把老年人看作是你必須“解決”的“問題”。

Here are some of my favorites from the reader submissions.

以下是一些我最喜歡的讀者意見。

1. Stay in touch

保持聯(lián)系

Keep older relatives in the loop. Share your joys, discuss your sorrows and ask their advice. Even if it is over the phone or by FaceTime it makes us feel connected and relevant. - Barbara Goodman

讓年長的親戚保持聯(lián)系。分享你的快樂，討論你的悲傷，并征求他們的建議。即使是通過電話或FaceTime，它也能讓我們感覺彼此相連、息息相關。——芭芭拉·古德曼

2. Organize virtual dinner and TV time

安排虛擬晚餐和看電視的時間

I am 74 years old and live alone yet every day I schedule virtual dinner meeting time with my remote family on Facebook Instant Messenger. After dinner we watch and share the same TV programs for one hour.

我已經(jīng)74歲了，獨自一人生活，但每天我都會在Facebook 即時通訊工具上安排與遠方家人的虛擬晚餐會面時間。晚飯后，我們一起看一個小時的電視節(jié)目。

Ironically, the required COVID-19 physical distance from my family has resulted in a much closer and stronger emotional and spiritual bond. – Dennis

具有諷刺意味的是，COVID-19所要求的與家人的身體距離，卻使我的情感和精神紐帶更加緊密和牢固。——丹尼斯

3. A good reminder

一個好的提醒

Stop treating older people like they are a problem to be solved! - Pat Gaydos

不要把老年人當作一個需要解決的問題來對待!——帕特·蓋多斯

4. Figure out ways to connect them to their interests

想辦法把他們和他們的興趣聯(lián)系起來

My mom is 92 and her eyesight is affected by macular degeneration. Because of this condition, she cannot see well enough to read. I asked her if she would like to listen to recorded books and she said yes. I went to the public libraries and found fiction based on the Depression era (when she was a child) and checked them out for her. I also purchased a simple CD player and wrote (in large letters) directions so that she could start and pause the CD herself. My mom is enjoying the stories immensely! -Bernadette Potts

我媽媽92歲了，她的視力受到黃斑變性的影響。由于這種情況，她視力不好，不能看書。我問她是否愿意聽錄音，她說愿意。我去了公共圖書館，找到了關于大蕭條時期(她還是個孩子的時候)的小說，并幫她查了一遍。我還買了一臺簡單的CD播放機，并用大號字母寫下說明，這樣她就可以自己開始播放和暫停播放CD了。我媽媽非常喜歡這些故事!——伯納黛特·波茨

5. Send a weekly postcard

每周寄一張明信片

My brother sent a postcard to our Mom once a week, with a message that told her what he was doing, such as ... ate apple pie for dessert tonight ... or took the dog to the vet for his annual check up ... or saw this building today ... simple things like that. He did this for 60 years. Isn't that wonderful? - Lisa Simon

我哥哥每周給媽媽寄一張明信片，上面寫著他在做什么，比如……吃了蘋果派作為今晚的甜點……或者帶狗去獸醫(yī)那里做年度檢查……或者今天看到這座建筑…像這樣簡單的事情。他這樣做了60年。那不是很棒嗎?——西蒙·麗莎

6. Use their skills

發(fā)揮他們的技能

Let us know how we can help! We are old but not dead. We have lots of skills ... we can sew masks ... make lunches for emergency workers ... make family a meal. - Christine Gagnon

讓我們知道我們能提供什么幫助!我們老了，但還沒死。我們有很多技能…我們可以縫口罩…為急救人員做午餐…給家人做頓飯。——克里斯汀•蓋格農(nóng)

7. Go for a pleasant drive or walk

開車或散步去愉快的地方

My wife is 75 with fairly advanced Parkinson's, requiring virtually 24-hour care by me. I'm 73. We are healthy and active, other than the challenges of her disease.

我的妻子已經(jīng)75歲了，患有嚴重的帕金森癥，需要我24小時的看護。我73歲了。除了她的疾病的挑戰(zhàn)，我們是健康和積極的。

We're both pretty bored. Here are a couple of things we do: We go for car rides. We go frequently for an hour or so. We also go on longer trips to the shore — about an hour away. We've found some places with great views of the ocean from the car. We bring a picnic lunch which is eaten in the car — sometimes followed by a brief snooze in a safe parking lot. We're lucky to live in a neighborhood where there are few cars. I push her in her wheelchair for walks. We go late in the afternoon when it is cooler and there is still plenty of light. - Roger Bentley

我們都很無聊。以下是我們做的幾件事:開車兜風。我們經(jīng)常去一個小時左右。我們還會去更遠的海邊——大約一個小時的路程。我們找到了一些可以從車上看到海景的地方。我們帶上野餐，在車上吃——有時在安全的停車場小睡一會兒。我們很幸運，住在一個汽車很少的社區(qū)。我推著她的輪椅散步。我們是在下午晚些時候去的，那時天氣比較涼爽，光線也很充足。——羅杰·賓利

8. Be patient

要有耐心

As a new caregiver for my father, I encountered a few situations that bothered me, such as my father asking the same question dozens of times. My advice: when he mentions or asks something for the umpteenth time, don't show exasperation. - Bob Chance

當我剛開始照顧父親的時候，我遇到了一些困擾我的情況，比如父親問了很多次同樣的問題。我的建議是:當他無數(shù)次提到或要求某件事時，不要表現(xiàn)出惱怒。——鮑勃·暢思

9. Create a custom lesson plan

創(chuàng)建一個自定義的課程計劃

My sister had a brilliant idea and I will say it has made a significant improvement in our dad's happiness factor. My sister was a teacher and educator for many years and was skilled at developing challenging and fun lesson plans. So she used our family history information as core curriculum and built a lesson plan for four days a week for my dad, which he does via email. - Jeri Wait

我姐姐想出了一個絕妙的主意，我可以說，這個主意極大地提高了爸爸的幸福感。我姐姐當了多年的教師和教育工作者，擅長制定富有挑戰(zhàn)性和趣味性的課程計劃。所以她把我們的家族史信息作為核心課程，并為我父親制定了每周四天的教學計劃，他通過電子郵件來完成。——杰瑞·威特