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How to Move an Elderly Person
Lessons Learned from My Own Experience.
I'll never forget sitting in my grandmother's living room, holding her hand and watching her cry while the movers carried her belongings out of the house. I tried to reassure her that she was moving to a place where she would have help and make new friends. But that did little to dissuade her sorrow.
I learned a valuable lesson that day on how to move an elderly person; never let someone watch their belongings get taken away.
A move is difficult and challenging for us all, but for the elderly it can be emotionally overwhelming to leave the place where so many memories took place. As much as possible, try to take care of the old home and its contents yourself.
Remind your loved one that memories don't live in any one place-- they live in our minds. Keep his or her focus on the future and all the new and exciting changes that await.
Get your loved one settled on the new place he or she will call home. Try to avoid ever taking your loved one back to the previous home. At best it would be a painful reminder. Your role is to act as a calming force and facilitator, helping to smooth the choppy emotional waters of the transition.
Reassure your loved one that happiness is waiting to be found in the new place they call home.
This blog is a part of our ongoing partnership with Growing Bolder Magazine. To see the full publication and our other contributions, feel free to visit their website.
