My friend AR is 63 years old, divorced and in a hole. Always overweight, like her parents and brother, she had a big stroke 3 years ago, which left one side of her body poorly functional. Her mental ability is OK. Her employer kept her on for a while, but she couldn’t do much and was eventually laid off. She’s on SSI and social security, living alone, using a motorized wheelchair to get around. She hasn’t done well- she could walk 60 feet slowly 18 months ago when employed, now she can barely do 6 if she gets herself upright. She’s on a lot of medication Coumadin, 2 antihypertensive drugs, medication to help her sleep- the medicines probably contribute to her poor function, but being alone, eating more than she should and lack of exercise are the main factors IMHO. She doesn’t even cook.
AR fell 2 weeks ago, leading to hospitalization. Now she’s in an extended care facility- skilled nursing home for ‘rehabilitation’. She gets about 45 minutes of physical or occupational therapy 5 days a week. She can’t get herself out of bed and at night the facility has only one person in the building. They put on diapers on AR and all the other inmates, except for a handful who can get themselves out of bed safely without assistance. This is psychological abuse.