Dear Queenie,
My brother’s mother-in-law is getting old and her mind seems to be slipping with age. She seems to be kind of OK in the daytime but it gets much worse as it gets later and later in the day.
They leave her alone in the house while they are at work during the day, but they lock the door from the outside so she can’t just go wandering around the neighborhood. I’ve told them this is not safe for her, but they still do it.
Queenie, is there anything I can do about it?—Worried about her
Dear Worried,
What your brother and his wife are doing is not merely “not safe”, it is downright dangerous. What if there were a fire in the house and the old lady could not get out and the firefighters could not get in, or if she fell or became ill and no-one could get in to help her?
Find out what service organisation(s) in your community offer(s) day-care programmes for older persons and suggest that your brother and his wife get in touch with them. And if they do not do so, you could inform whatever adult protective services are available in your community so that they can look into the matter.
