I think the most important prerequisite for working with the elderly is to have a heart for old people. And maybe it’s something that God has programmed into some of us.
 
I’m pretty sure He did that with me. I can remember, as a child, sitting on the front steps of our house in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and watching old ladies in stout shoes walking along the treacherously uneven sidewalks with their canes. Sometimes they were just making the short trip to the corner store for a quart of milk or loaf of bread. Sometimes  they’d march purposefully to the bus stop, intent on making the two-mile trip downtown for shopping and maybe a visit to Prange’s restaurant for coffee or to Kaap’s for a slice of out-of-this-world cheesecake. 
  
I would watch them and my heart would ache with some mysterious longing. I would think, “I can’t wait to be old so I can suffer with them,” whatever that meant. And I still don’t really have a clue. Maybe it was a tender heartstring that the Lord had given me  specifically for the elderly. Maybe it was simply a reflection of my love for one of those old ladies in particular, my own Granny, who lived with us and was my best friend until I grew up enough to begin rebelling against everything good thing God had ever given me – a rebellion that went on for nearly four decades.  
 
Whatever the cause, I’m now approaching the age where that long-ago wish may well come true, and these early aches and pains are giving me hints of what I might be in for. Be careful what you wish for, as they say. 

Here's a worthy cause: bringing the gift of music to people suffering from cognitive and physical challenges -- particularly the elderly -- via iPods. The video below explains the impact it can have on an individual's quality of life; this web page, how you can help. And if you're looking for a nursing home for a loved one, you might want to put this activity on your list of questions; offering this program, or ramping up to do so, is a good indication of a staff that really cares! 

Could vitamin D deficiency increase your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease? It would seem so, according to a study recently published in the journal Neurology. In fact, its authors found that the risk of both Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia increased "markedly" in patients with low levels of D in their blood. 

That doesn't necessarily mean we should all run out and by vitamin D supplements, or spend more time in the sun, or consume more salmon, tuna, fortified whole milk, pork, eggs, beef liver, or ricotta cheese -- the foods identified by Good Housekeeping as great sources of D. (Why does butter-pecan ice cream never appear on such lists?) The jury is still apparently out on this question.

But could it hurt to buy a bottle of supplements?

Well, maybe. We all know about the dangers of getting too much sun, or eating too much of just about anything. Side effects of taking too much D include "weakness, fatigue, sleepiness, headache, loss of appetite, dry mouth, metallic taste, nausea, [and] vomiting" -- and unspecified worse side effects, if you're trying to correct a D deficiency, which is why you should only do this "under the supervision of a healthcare provider."  

But the danger apparently occurs only when you're taking over 4,000 units of D a day, per WebMD; my bottle's gelcaps are only 400 units each. I suppose that means one a day isn't going to do much if you have a problem, and if you don't have a problem, what's the point in taking it? 

Obviously the right way to do this is to get tested for D deficiency, and if you've got it, follow your doctor's instructions. Probably worth it, if it really reduces the risk of these sad diseases. 

In the meantime, it's good to know that Vitamin D can also be helpful for everything from bone health to blood pressure, and may help prevent diseases from autoimmune disorders to cancer. 

Hey, maybe D is the ticket to living forever!? But the jury is still out on that score, too; until you hear otherwise, there's only one sure way to eternal life, and it doesn't come in a bottle.

A post from August 2013, when I had four readers -- I'm hearing more and more about this problem, so it seemed worth revisiting:

Has anyone else noticed the epidemic of adult children abandoning their parents? I personally know a number of parents aged 50 and up who rarely or never hear from their children; and there are more and more web sites and online forums addressing the problem. 
  
In some cases, the kids are just super busy, don’t need yet another obligation, and so rank “call the folks” low on their To Do lists. Is this simply payback of the sort Harry Chapin sang about decades ago in “Cat’s in the Cradle”?   
 
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away 
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, 
and as he grew He'd say 
"I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you" ...

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

Maybe that usually is the problem, although I certainly see once-neglectful parents -- those who had little time for their young children – being lavished with attention now that those children have grown up. “What goes around comes around” doesn’t seem to apply in these cases.
 
But is there something more insidious going on? For instance, are we seeing adult kids rejecting parents just because they’re no longer cool? The good Lord knows that there’s not a lot of respect left for the aging – those that we Baby Boomers defined as anyone over 30, back in the day. 
  
There was a time when the fear of God, and respect for the Ten Commandments, were major influences in the western world. Not so today. One by one, those Commandments have been torn down and stomped on until only a faithful remnant is left to obey. 
 
Are we now seeing the destruction of the last one standing – the 5th?

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12). 

I’m afraid that this may indeed be the case. 

Fortunately, there's a great solution. Whatever your personal circumstances may be, go out and be a friend to someone who has been abandoned by his or her kids, and is without resources; you'll find lots of them in the nearest nursing home. And if you haven't done so already, get right with God; in the end, the only thing that really matters is where you'll be spending eternity.