Death By Stubborn
Speaking of the heat, my grandmother examplifies why a surprising amount of the elderly dropping like flies in heat waves might be, in a manner of speaking, voluntary.
She’s had many air conditioners over the years, using them seldom, usually ostensibly because the unit in question had died. Her most recent one came from me a couple years ago.
At the big “we only get to see my brother’s kids once or twice a year so it’s a fine time to forget the camera” cookout at my grandmother’s Sunday, she stayed in the house per normal, with three or four fans going. Compared to some days, it was pretty comfortable, but still, it was brutal in there.
I almost piped up and asked her why she wasn’t running the air conditioner. I wish I had, because I’d probably have given her heck if the reason was anything other than “it’s dead.”
It’s not. Come to find out later she is flatly refusing to run the AC. Absolutely Will. Not. Do. It. My mother, I am told, is furious. She lives there too, and is also old enough that she should be extra careful. She ought to be furious. It’s moronic to have the AC and refuse to use it!
I’m not sure how much of this is wailing and gnashing over the potential electric bill, like running four fans is going to be any better, and how much of this is imagining she’s still young, healthy, and didn’t need no damn AC back in her day. Someone who shows and describes for me the same picture three times in under two minutes is starting to be in no shape to decide that something like AC is icky modern voodoo she shouldn’t use. Then again, I could see her refusing just to irritate my mother.
Sheesh. I wonder how many homes of the elderly this plays itself out in these conditions around the country.
So if my grandmother dies this week, I’ll be sad - extremely sad, end of an era sad - but it will probably have been a self-inflicted death by stubborn.
Sheesh is right. Maybe you should ask her how much her life is worth to her, in dollars and cents. And then ask if that’s more than a power bill.
Posted by caltechgirl on 07/31 at 03:36 PMconfusion comes with the overheating
Posted by on 07/31 at 03:45 PMYeah, I was talking the other day with a fellow who’s well into his 80s, and he was of the opinion that “air conditioner” air is somehow “no good.”
Posted by Paul Burgess on 08/01 at 08:39 AMMy grandparents in NY do the same thing. When my grandfather went to the hospital last week due to dehydration (he was drinking beer all day to cool off, not water), the doctor even told him that they need to start using the AC ASAP! Insanity.
Posted by Kristine on 08/01 at 09:28 AMHave you ever been to a nursing home? The general population in a nursing home even in summer wear sweaters! As people age they tend to have circulation problems and are always feeling on the cold side.I would take my mother out in the summer heat wearing a sweater. She disliked AC as do I most of the time as people just have it too cold. Your father hates AC.We have an airconditioner in Plympton for our bedroom which he has yet to install. It maybe that he is not sure he can do it anymore but its more likely he just does not want to use it. Your grandmother is not trying to hurt your mother she is just being a normal 90 year old.
Just remember one thing: What goes around comes around!
Posted by on 08/01 at 01:53 PMmy inlaws in western PA have never had an AC. they live in a little brick house, and when it is 70 and sunny out it is 98 and broiling inside. My husband and I lovingly refer to their house as “The Kiln.”
I cannot believe he and his sister survived growing up in that building. We refuse to stay with them when we visit… we hit the hotel with the pool. Grandma’s house is not only too damn hot, it’s also full of fragile glass figurines that my 9yr old bulldozer of a son would plow right through and say ‘Sorry, gah’ upon finishing.
Anyway—a lot of elderly people fully believe that it is better to have hot FRESH air than recirculated, chemically infused cool air. Currently my husband works in a nursing home (aka: the sauna) and they don’t have the AC lower than 78 in there on any given day.
God help the elderly.
(visiting via Universal Hub, in case you’re interested in how people land in your blog).
Posted by christine on 08/01 at 05:10 PMI think it’s the combination of poor circulation, misinformation about how easy it is to dehydrate, and an out of control penny-wise respect for money which explains the refusal to use A/C.
My father grew up during the depression, and he’d save every elastic band or piece of string if my mother let him. (However, I know he’ll crank the A/C to meatlocker to protect my mother).
Posted by on 08/02 at 09:42 PM
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