What to do with the parentals

A friend of mine at work is having a dilemma. His father is elderly and in declining health. Without getting into details, the choice is whether or not he needs to have full time care. To me it seems like a no-brainer, he needs to be in a home with full time medical attention. But then I put myself in those shoes.

Could I do it? Will I ever have to?

It's a much tougher call when it's your own parents. Hopefully my mom will end up like my grandmother. My gram is 83, volunteers at the hospital and church, drives herself where she needs to go in the daytime, is healthy as a horse for the most part.

My dad will be tougher, mostly because he's not the best at taking care of himself. Plus he has the worse medical history. Thankfully he's been more pro-active on his planning. I have a list of situations where I should cut off life support and how I should do it.

But putting either of them in nursing homes? I don't know about that. I've got that old school in me that your parents should be at home, even if they are old and sick. My grandmother in Puerto Rico is at home with a full time nurse and I feel better about that than if my father and uncles put her in a home, especially down in PR because the homes down there are awful.

I'm just hoping I never have to make that decision.