"I want to do the right thing. She was a wonderful mother, and deserves only that." This common refrain comes from children of aged, ill parents. Families struggle with decisions, confronting the inevitable while providing parents with love and care. Modern medicine often offers endless treatments-but illnesses eventually progress and the focus must ultimately shift to end-of-life care. Moments that Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare reflects Dr. Gordon's extensive experience with families struggling with poignant and difficult decisions. Unfortunately, it is common for family ties to become stretched and challenged when families face the decline of a parent. This is especially true when it appears that one member of the family is carrying an inordinate amount of the care responsibilities. I recently experienced a situation in which a son of an elderly woman who had significant dementia turned up for the first time in my office accompanying his mother. His father was being strained beyond his coping abilities but would not consider any external assistance, community program, or institutional care. Also at the visit was his younger sister, with whom I had worked over the previous year and who was the primary caregiver for their parents, who were clearly struggling to maintain themselves in the community. --- from the author Reviews: "Caring effectively and lovingly for the elders in our families can present daunting dilemmas. Moments that Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare provides invaluable information and insights for all concerned. Dr. Michael Gordon has given us a timely and timeless gift with this book." -Steven R. Sabat, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University "Dr. Gordon has written a thoughtful and indispensible guide to aid families facing difficult choices in caring for aging family members. There is no other single resource that so deftly and expertly draws together the necessary elements to navigate this phase of the life course." -Ross Upshur, M.D., Director, Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto "Drawing on a rich supply of vignettes from his vast clinical experience, Dr. Michael Gordon brings good advice and trenchant analysis to families caring for older relatives. Moments that Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare is informative, practical, and compassionate-everything that struggling caregivers need." -Muriel R. Gillick, M.D., Professor of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School Hide synopsis |