I live in Chicago. BUt my mother is 85 and lives in Lyndhurst, Ohio. My sister is 60 and lives about a mile away from my mom. My sister is not too well physically and mentally and her husband is moving forward with a divorce. I'm working on getting a lawyer for my sister. She and my mom are not really capabable of doing so. My sister is also about to have a hip replacement on 11/19 and is planning to go to my mom's house to recover! She doesn't really have anybody else. I try to keep in touch and do what I can but it's hard long distance. Can you suggest anything? My mom is really not able to deal with all these life issues my sister has.
I do speak from experience but can only say what I was able to do. I was able to walk around the house with a walker get to the bathroom and kitchen unaided and get in and out of a car. The first time I showered my husband helped and we used a hand held shower. After that I was able to sit on a shower chair slide over into the tub and do everything myself. Now I am not overweight and am physically active but do have severe OA and at the time was 68. I had my right hip done and was able to drive in about 3- 4 weeks for very short distances. It is all very tiring and I did a lot of napping but the more you do the quicker you heal. An 85 year old who was independent herself could certainly have cared for me but I am not your sister.
Before the surgery the family should contact public health to see what services are available. I am glad you are helping out with the lawyer because your sister probably can't handle that.
If your sister can't go to rehab after her surgery, what I would recommend is to get the Visiting Nurse Association involved. They can come to your mom's home and monitor your sister's care and recovery while also checking on your mom. Good luck, you sound like a good and caring sister.