My brother, who is a fellow baby boomer, has experienced severe health issues in the last couple of years. He lives alone and I’m several hours away by car, which makes it difficult to be of any real assistance. I am happy to say he is now much improved and is still managing to live in his own little home with a lot of help from others. Whatever it takes to keep us living the life we choose and however we draw on outside resources to make that happen, it is worth it. And, as we’re discovering, it does take a lot of resources to keep boomers rockin’ and rollin’ in our dotage.

Most of us gave up certain chores years ago because we could no longer do them. To my great shame, I no longer shovel snow or cut my own lawn, even though my father still handled these chores himself until he was ninety and moved into assisted living. Even then, he felt embarrassed that he could no longer do the work he’d done so easily for his entire life.

A boomer friend had a major health issue on a long road trip that he had embarked on alone and required hospitalization in the United States. That adventure required a relative driving down from Canada to get him home to Toronto and ensure that his health needs were taken care of in a U.S. hospital, then again when they got him home.

Another friend from childhood had a stroke over the past winter. She, too, lives in her own home. The repercussions were manageable. With considerable help from friends, family, and community service providers, she was able to obtain the help she needed to stay home and recuperate.

Even with the support of social services, there may be times when we need supplementary private care. One of my neighbours reported a $15,000.00/month fee for private care for her husband who was disabled by a stroke four years ago. We can burn through our entire life savings very quickly at those rates.

In the interests of maintaining a safer home, one of my girlfriends sold all their ladders to ensure that her husband would no longer climb ladders. It’s just a matter of time until we face losing our drivers’ licences, which is probably one of the most difficult steps in the aging process. We no longer do our painting, home renovations, or heavy yard work. We quit doing our income tax returns decades ago—you don’t have to be a senior to be stumped by that gawd-awful task. The challenges are mounting.

My brother is maintaining status quo with a little help from his community of caregivers and support services. He sent me a list of all the people who keep his world spinning:

• Chris for lawn, cutting and snow removal
• Abby for gardens
• Dylan the Weedman
• Bette for nails and feet
• Debbie to clean the house
• Kieran the handyman who can fix anything
• Don for Foodland grocery delivery
• Christa for pharmacy delivery
• Sarah for meals and desserts, and
• Roger for being a wonderful neighbour always willing to lend a helping hand.

And, that doesn’t include all the PSWs, nurses, physio and occupational therapists who visited him during the worst of his health crisis. Yep, it takes a large village to wrangle senior boomers and keep us living in our own homes as long as possible. When it transpires (as it will) that living in our own homes is no longer possible, then another group of caregivers takes over when we move to assisted living or to a long-term care home.

Most of my friends are early boomers in their seventies so we’ve had a wakeup call. We have to be more careful about so many things these days and it’s shocking how often we fail to acknowledge our limitations. When our health is compromised, we are forced to rely on so many members of our community to help us through. We’re lucky to have these community services at our disposal and we can never thank them enough for the work they do.

While we hope we will need outside help later rather than sooner, life does not come with a guarantee. Be kind. Be a good friend. Be a good neighbour and a good citizen. We must help others whenever we can. How prophetic The Beatles were all those years ago when they sang: “We get by with a little help from our friends.” Amen! Particularly since “When I’m Sixty-Four” is now in our rearview mirror. These days, “She’s Leaving Home” means “She’s going to the home”. Will we be ready?