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My mother is 75 and while mostly independent she has burned herself twice while cooking. Third degree too. This is how the convo went:
Me: "mom, why didn't you say anything?"
Mom: "No, it's fine it was only 1st degree"
Me: "That looks at least second degree, did it have blisters?"
Mom: "Oh yeah, it was fine, I popped them"!!!!!!!!!!!!
She thinks this is NORMAL.
That's all I can say about that.
Other than that she is pretty independent. Except she DOES need to be reminded to change her clothes and shower. This isn't a dementia thing. It's just laziness. She's always been this way. When my sister says something to her she says, "I'm enjoying my retirement" (by sitting in dirty clothes for days on end?)
My sisters and I are worried this is only going to get worse.
We all work and have our own kids and we can't be there for her 24/7. I'm starting to think about assisted living but between social security and retirement she only brings in $1700/month and from what I can see assisted living costs THOUSANDS per month.
What do poor people do?
My dad is more independent so he has a few years yet.
I have no idea where to begin.
Thanks for any advice.

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JustSomeone -you said SHE only brings in SS & retirement. You mentioned your dad; what about his income? or are they divorced? At any rate, as worriedinCali said, Assisted Living won't oversee her hygiene habits. Do check for AL's that offer low income residences.
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why do you think things would be different in assisted living? Do you think your mom would be more receptive to outsiders suggesting she get dressed? In assisted living, she will still have autonomy. She wont be forced to get dressed or take a shower. As far as paying for assisted living, some states have financial assistance for low income people (to help pay for some of the costs, but usually not room & board which is of course the biggest expense), some states even have income based assisted living (where the monthly cost is determined by your income). I think it would be a good idea to contact your area on aging to see what resources are available in your county. There may even be financial assistance at the county level.
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