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Summary
In this episode of CareLab, Emilia Bourland and Brandy Archie tackle common myths about aging in place, offering insights on how to effectively plan for aging in your current home. They emphasize the importance of proactive and flexible planning, challenging the notion that aging in place is only about environmental changes or something to consider later in life.
Key Takeaways
- Aging in place isn't just about home remodeling: You can make simple adjustments and use adaptive equipment to age in place without extensive renovations.
- Thick carpeting isn't a solution for fall prevention: It increases the risk of falls and may hinder the use of mobility devices.
- Start planning early: Aging in place is more effective when considered early in life, rather than waiting until mobility is reduced.
- Aging in place is not just about the physical environment: Consider cognitive, sensory, and daily living support as part of the plan.
- Planning is ongoing: It's essential to have flexible solutions that adapt as your needs change over time.
Transcript
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Hey everyone, welcome to Care Lab. You did, sorry. We had the best conversation that we were probably going to have today and it's, we did it before we were recording, so you're out of luck. Yeah, but you should hang around for sure for the episode. Because we do have...
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I agree, and we should have been recording from the beginning, but you know.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Welcome to Care Lab. You already missed the whole conversation.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Rookie mistakes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
This is going to be a good episode. I'm excited to do this. So what we were talking about before came up because I had the idea for this episode while I was on a run.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
which is when she has all her good ideas and I hate running. So I'm like, maybe I don't have good ideas either.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
when I have... I think you have a lot of good ideas. When do you get your best ideas?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
man, I've had this question before and I don't know if I have a good answer. I think at this point in my life, I don't want to say this is the truth all the time, but in this point in my life, the times I have the best ideas are when, which is few and far between, there is solid, there is solid level of like, I don't have to do anything. Like there are very few times where my brain is off or like,
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
That is not true.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
No kid needs to be fed, no task needs to be done, no whatever. Like those moments of solitude, that's what I was looking for, not solid. Those moments of solitude is when I have my best ideas because then my brain is never off. And so if I don't have to do a task, my brain's like, well, what other things can be awesome? And then I get new ideas.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
That's exactly what running is for me. It's this dedicated moment where my brain is not focused on anything. Like I'm just there in solitude by myself, not taking care of other people. And it gives, and like just like in my body and it gives my brain the freedom and the space.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
to like imagine things or to work things out or to solve problems because I'm not focused on trying to get the next task done. I'm just like there in that moment. That's exactly what running does for me.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
That makes total sense, but I was talking earlier about how I hate running and I only can run for a goal. And I played basketball in college and so I've run lots, but it needs to be like a shorter distance. And, but it could be for longer. It just needs to be a shorter distance. So I feel like I'm accomplished at something every time I go back and forth at the court. But when doing like a shooting workout or even if it's by myself, like I don't have ideas then. Cause I'm always thinking about like,
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
You
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
making the next shot or like, it's still a task happening. But when you're running, I can understand how like, you can pick your feet up and go one foot in front of the other without really thinking about it.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, that's true.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, especially if I mean, I'm sure there are people who are like very serious runners who run races and they you know, they're super focused on what they're doing, right? Like they're running so fast and like really thinking about how they're going to make their pace and maintain things and where the rest of the runners are. And I'm not that runner. I am really slow. Like this is part of the trick. Actually, you can run really far.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
are analyzing what they're doing. Yeah, yeah.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
if you go slow enough. It's not and for long enough. That is that is the other side of it is sometimes because again, I am very slow. So like, let's say I was training for a half marathon or something. It takes me forever to run that far. So there does come a point where I honestly get bored. And I'm like, and I'm like, ready to be I'm like, ready to be done. But.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
for long enough.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
So you gotta think about something!
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, I mean, the trick is, at least for me, you can run really far if you just go slow enough. And it just gives, like for me, it just gives my brain space. I come up with all my best and probably all my worst ideas running, but all my ideas, so many ideas. Brain is on fire with ideas all the time.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Because you get plenty of ideas while you're running.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
See, I don't think that's what the saying is. The saying is actually, if you run a run fast, run alone. If you run a run far, run together. It needs to be a team sport in my life. That's how things work for me. Cross country?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I hate running. I hate running with other people. Yes, I do.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Really? Because it takes away your peace of solitude or it's like comparison and then it's like trying to keep up with them?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
It's like, one, because I am genuinely, like, I'm really slow. And so I can't keep up with anyone. I really can't. So then I'm just thinking about how, like, I can't keep up with people. Or more than that, I feel bad because I feel like they're slowing down to match my pace. And then I'm worried about the other person. And I'm not running so that I can worry about other people. Like, it is 100 % a selfish activity for me.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
huh.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
to run with you.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
And so I don't like, my husband has always been like, why don't you, why don't you want to run together? You'll never run with me. And I'm like, I don't, it's not you. It's everyone.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Not that I don't want to run with you, I don't want to run with anyone. So don't feel slighted.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I don't want to run. Yeah. That's like, I like to do, I like to go do races with people. Like I have a cousin, we did a half marathon together last year and I hope we get to do another one together this year. And, and she was like, are you okay not running together? And I was like, absolutely. But like, it's fun to do that event together because then you get to celebrate together at the finish line and you have like, there's someone else who's training for it, who's like pushing you towards that goal. So it holds you accountable for.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm. I was about to say the accountability.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, for like getting up and running eight miles when you don't feel like actually getting up and running eight miles or making that time to do it. So like, that's really nice. But in terms of like side by side running, no, I don't want to talk. I don't want to worry about keeping up with your pace or you having to slow down to meet mine. Just like we can both go for a run at the same time, but this is a separate activity. Yeah, that's how I feel. Yeah. Yes, we did.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Got it.
That's funny. So, okay, we talked all this up. So you better have an awesome idea about what we're talking about today. I'm all ears.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Okay, so I've got it. I've got a two parter here for you. The first is so the first question will kind of lead into the second. So the first question is,
How often are, or can you think of any like specific parts of conventional wisdom, right? Things that are like passed down kind of from generation to generation or are just sort of held to be truths, right? That are actually wrong, that drive you crazy. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
okay. Okay, something that is like old wives tales or like things that people think all the time, but are actually not true. that's a hard question. I don't know if I have any of that kind of mind. You tell me yours first and then I'll come up with something.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah. Yeah.
Yes, yeah.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Okay, well, so this, I was reminded of this because we were talking about running. So something that really, I don't even want to say it drives me crazy. It makes me deeply concerned is people believing that like, like wearing sweats and like plastic. I've seen people walk around in like garbage bags and sweatshirts in a hundred degrees here in Texas and they're like doing it to lose weight, right? And it's so.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Oof.
-huh.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
dangerous. So like this belief that you can just like sweat out, sweat out your weight and one that it's going to actually help you really genuinely lose weight in a meaningful way or two that it's good for you. And obviously, well, obviously not obviously. To me, it's obvious just because like, you know, being in healthcare, it's so bad for you. I mean, like you could be really genuinely risking your life.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
because we will do it.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
doing something like that in the right circumstances because you're putting, you're dehydrating your body and you're putting a ton of stress on all of your major organs, especially your heart. But then also like it's just water, it's not fat. You're just losing, you're just losing fluid. You're not actually changing the composition of your body except the fact that you're like damaging yourselves. Yeah, everything.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
everything.
I have, I have, yeah. Yeah. I'm always like, why do people think that works?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
So don't do that if you do that. Please don't do that.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Because it's conventional wisdom. It's like pass it like, you need to lose a few pounds, go sweat it off, right? It's just passed down.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah.
I think I have two actually. One is that if your body is cold, you're gonna get a cold. You know, like, it's cold outside, you gotta put a coat on. Yes, I agree with that. But the reasoning or the proof point is not that you're gonna catch a cold. Like, you catch a cold from germs and you can get that whether you're warm or not. It just depends on if there's germs around that you put inside your body. And I'm like, that's what that relates to.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
And the other one is that multitasking is a thing. Like your brain is not capable of multitasking. I was guilty of feeling, thinking I could beat the system, beat my own brain, I guess, and do that. And now the thing I say the most often at home is, how many things can mommy do at one time? One. Okay, well I'm already doing this thing, so I can't do that thing for you. So can you hold on? Like.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
OOF
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I'm very clearly gonna do one task at a time because otherwise I'm doing all the tasks poorly.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm. Yeah, that's a really good one. I feel every time I see the word multitasking, it like makes me cringe. It's a cringey word for me because it's just not true. It's attention switching people and it just makes you not perform super well. And I think we're all guilty of trying to do that. I mean, I try to do it all the time to terrible results. But so we should all follow your lead. How many tasks can I do at one time? Just one.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
That's true.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah!
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
can't do it all at one time. I am not saying I'm not a hypocrite. I'm just saying that I'm trying to pay more attention to it so that I won't be falling into that cycle where I think I can do more than one thing at a time, because I really can't. Your brain, like the science says, your brain cannot do this. So.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
science people. It's actually a real thing.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
There is some truth here.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
There is some truth here. Okay, so this leads me into the bigger topic of discussion. Okay, so there are also lots of myths about aging in place and some like,
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Okay, drum roll please.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I would say conventional wisdom that might not be true that people often think of and follow when they're thinking about getting their homes up to age in place or thinking about their parents or grandparents or whoever aging in place. So I wanted to dispel some of those myths today in this episode.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
That sounds awesome.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
All right. Do you have? Yeah, please.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
You want me to give my first myth? Yes. Okay. My first myth is that you need to be able to remodel your home in order to really be aging in place. I think of people here aging in place, they think about a house, they think about construction, they think about money and bathrooms. And while that is definitely a component and you could certainly go that route in order to make your home accessible, that is...
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
not the only way, nor is it the most frequent way that people make a plan to age and place. Because truthfully, most people, not everyone owns a home or lives in a place that they're gonna remodel. And so aging a place really just means making sure that the space that you are at is gonna work for your needs now and in the future. You can do that through adaptive equipment and lots of behavior change, resources, services, lots of ways.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm hmm. I really like that too, because I think for so many people, it feels like aging in places out of reach when they're thinking about construction because and heavy remodeling because obviously that is expensive. Like that's a big investment. And if you can do it and if it's worth it for you, then, you know, by all means, you can go ahead and do those things if they're if they're necessary or if you were going to do it anyway, then you want to be thoughtful about how you're doing those things. Right. But I think it puts it.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
way more in people's grasp by saying like, hey, it doesn't have to be heavy remodeling. It doesn't have to be construction. Like we can make some thoughtful adjustments and changes and be well aware of the resources around us that can actually make this possible for a much wider spectrum of people, not just folks who can afford to, you know, gut their house and remodel everything.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yep. Exactly. What's your myth?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
so I have, there, there are a couple that really, get under my skin, but one of them is, and it's related to fall prevention too. The idea that if you are going to age in place or if you're afraid of falling, then you should like have really thick carpeting installed.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
so that's your fall is cushioned by the carpeting? I have heard somebody say this.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
That's right. Yeah, so it's actually, I hear it all the time. So it's not about, it's actually not a fall prevention thought. And I think, and people aren't even thinking about it as fall prevention. They're just thinking, I'm gonna fall. When I fall, I wanna land on something soft. And I get that actually. That's not 100 % wrong because if you do fall, you will probably,
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Huh?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Huh?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
get less hurt if you're landing on something softer. However, you're so much more likely to fall if you're on that that carpeting. And so like what I so the analogy that I will always make for folks is let's say you're on the beach and you're walking on the beach and you know the sand is different depending on where you're walking on the beach, right? If you're down by the water and the sand is pretty compact, then it's pretty easy to walk on.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
huh.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
heavy carpet. Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
you know, because it's nice and firm. It takes less energy. You aren't catching toes on things. Like it's just an easier place to walk. Now, if you move up the beach and it's really soft and dry, that's a lot harder to walk on that sand because it's soft and it's not a stable surface. And that's kind of an extreme example, but I think it helps people to understand the difference. And when you, let's say maybe you do have a mobility impairment,
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
-huh.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
or you have a balance issue, that difference that seems really, really subtle when you are, you know, when you don't have any of those problems can be the same as the difference between hard and soft sand when you're in that situation. So it's just one of those things like this idea that I'm gonna fall anyway.
let me just have really soft carpeting is not necessarily the best strategy because it is actually going to make you more likely to fall. And the more you're falling, the more likely you are to eventually have an injury. Like that's just a fact. You fall enough, you're going to get hurt. So I would rather people have the mindset, let's do things to prevent that fall from happening in the first place. One of them being making sure that the environment and the flooring is actually set up for my success to make it easier to walk.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Huh?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
and then doing all of those other, like all the other underlying work to help prevent falls as well, because it's more than just one solution for something like that. I will also add to that that if you have thick carpeting or sometimes even carpeting at all and you end up needing a mobility device, like if you need to use a walker inside, if you end up using a wheelchair, sometimes it can even just like.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
or a wheelchair.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Clearing that surface and getting it over even with a cocaine or something can be harder. But if you have anything with wheels, it is not going to work well on that carpet. And it can end up being something that prevents you from moving independently at all at a certain point in your home. So that's one of my big ones.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
So instead of like thinking about, I'm going to add this for some protection and so that I can stay living here. You're actually making it a lot harder for you to stay living there because you risk falling. And then even if you do end up with like a mobility device, now it's even harder to navigate or maybe impossible for you to get in that space. So you're really just stacking the deck against yourself.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Exactly. And then in that case, you're either stuck, like you can't move around your space because the flooring is not conducive to that, or then you do have to do some remodeling. And at that point in time, you are probably in much less of a position to actually undergo a project like that. So.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
making it is all just
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
That's one of mine that I'm always like, no, no, no, no, no, let's not go down this path. Let's think a different way about this because we can always do other things to prevent you from falling. But once this is here, it's just a risk factor that's going to stay. And it's not very flexible. Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
That's built in. Yeah, literally. OK, you want to know my second myth?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yes.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
that you should think about aging in place when you're older or less mobile. So one of the very first ways that I was trying to get the word out about the services that we provide was to go to senior focused events. And the feedback that I got all the time at the booth is like, that's nice for them. I don't need this yet. And while nobody ever wants to,
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
for lack of better terms, address their mortality, even though that's the one thing we will all do. We are all born and we all die. Those are the only two things we always have in common. People just don't want to deal with it. And they associate, I think, not necessarily rightfully, the aging process with death. And where we don't think about kids growing up as like...
the end of their life, although it does make them closer to it, right? Aging is just another component, another, it's just another time in your life, right? Nobody knows when their end of their life is coming. So why not make the years that you have the best ones you can? That's why you go to school, that's why you take care of your health, all those things are for like, they're to make your life better. And aging in place to me is like a way to make your life better as opposed to a thing.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
that is like, man, the end is near, so I need to think about how to make sure I can hang on and live in this house. Like, the house that we bought five years ago, my husband loved it when he walked in, and I loved it too when we lived there. But the first thing I noticed was that there was only one step to enter the house. And I was like, if we never move again, we can live here, right? There's a bedroom on the first floor.
I can already tell that an older lady lived there before. There's a grab bar and the bathroom on the first floor. And there's a shower on the first floor. I'm like, this house is awesome. And at the time I was like 35 when I moved into that house. And so to me, aging in place is a thing that you can think about at any moment in your life. And the earlier you think about it, the better.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, I couldn't agree with that more. And I had like a similar thing actually when we, so we did some pretty substantial remodeling to our house several years ago. And in that process, you know, and I was in my early thirties at the time, people thought I was crazy, but I'm like, I need to be able to live in this house if something happens. And of course, like that's informed by the fact that, you know,
especially at that time in my life, I was working with people who had had things happen to them. You know, people with spinal cord injuries, people with brain injuries, people like, listen, folks, stuff happens, stuff happens. And as much as I like wish that I were special and immune or that my family is special and immune, we're not. And so I didn't want for a catastrophic like life event turn to end up turning into a catastrophic, we have to move event.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah.
Things happen all the time!
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
And so there were things that I had, even though like this is, it's a two story house, but there were things that I had them make sure they put in the plans to make sure that in the event of something like that happening, we could make a few simple changes and we could stay in the house and it wouldn't, you know, we could keep our lives going as smoothly as possible, which kind of, so that sort of brings me though to my next myth, which is that in,
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Okay.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
order, like the main thing to think about in terms of aging in place is how many floors the house has.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
And everyone, I hear this a lot, like, I don't need to do anything. The house is fine because it's only one story. I've been in plenty of one single story houses that have plenty of accessibility problems that have to be addressed, right? On the other hand, you can have a two story house that's perfectly appropriate to age in place in if you have everything.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
If you have a plan to be able to access everything that you need, either on the first floor or with the ability to get up and down to that second floor, you know, in a variety of circumstances. So it's, is it, does it sometimes make things easier to have an all one story house? Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to argue with that. That can definitely make some things easier, but it's not like the
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
most important thing about aging in place. And it's not a, it's not the end all be all of aging place. And it's not necessarily a prerequisite for aging in place. And all of course, all of that just depends on the individual and the individual home, you know, and its structure, and what your real goals are for aging in place. Like we say that, but what does that mean? What does that mean you want your life to look like? And that's really where the more important questions.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
kind of get answered and where we can really, I think to your point earlier, start making some recommendations and decisions that are gonna be functional now and in the long term and maybe won't require, you know, a crazy amount of heavy construction or none at all.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Exactly. Which actually leads into my next myth.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
We didn't even plan this. We didn't even plan this!
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
We didn't plan any of this, it's so good.
this is how we'd be on the same wavelength, is that aging a place is only related to your environment and environmental changes. And because let's say you do have a perfectly accessible one story home, if you lose your ability to think well or remember or lose the ability to use your hands well, that creates different challenges that are not necessarily related to what you.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Ha ha!
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
how the house is situated. It's more about, do you have some levels of care that you've considered and you will enact if or when that thing happens? Do you have support in the community? Maybe it's your vision that goes, right? Yes, environmental changes can make a difference for that, but what you really need is strategies to deal with things without your vision, transportation.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
How are we going to get your groceries? What are we going to do for cooking? And like those things matter a lot too when you consider agent in place plan. I've had some people who lived in accessible homes but decided to move into assisted living because then they didn't have to cook. And that means they didn't have to get groceries. They didn't have to clean because somebody was coming to do that. And there was somebody around to hand them their medications. And so like those were the reasons that they moved, not because they...
couldn't stay living in that house because their body couldn't get from point A to point B.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm. Yeah, I think that's a really good point too, that so often we only think about, how's the bathroom? Can you get in there? Right? And the fact is your life is more than being able to take a shower and use a toilet. Like it's way, especially if we're talking about quality of life. Are those things important? Yes. Are they the only things that matter? Not at all.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Nuh -huh.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
And so we have to be thinking again about this broader picture of what our day to day really looks like. And there are ways that you can solve pretty much every single one of the challenges that you were just naming, right? We can come up with ways to get meal prep done. We can come up with ways for laundry to get done, for groceries to be delivered. Like we can problem solve all of that. At a certain point, it's just about, okay,
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Is it really important that all of those things get done here in this place or is what solution works best for you in the way that's going to be most expedient, that's going to be easiest, and then again, that fits in with your vision of how you want to live. And there's not a right or wrong answer to that. It's. Mm hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
it's just a matter of thinking about it and like setting yourself up after you've thought about it. And you're like, you know, in the ideal world, I'd like to go path A, then let's put the path A steps in place. You know, maybe let's learn how to order our groceries online before we really needed to do it so we could feel more comfortable in doing it. Maybe we, you know, there's lots of strategies and solutions, but the most important thing is like thinking about it and making a decision as to like what you think is most accessible for your life. And then creating.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
the structure around it. It's not any different than like life planning at different ages. So me and my husband lived in Washington, D .C. and we decided to move back to Kansas City for two big reasons. One was we didn't have a million dollars to buy a house in D .C. and we wanted to have a home. And two, all of our support system was here and we wanted to have kids. And so could we have kids in D .C. and like build a support system? Yes, we could have.
but it would have been harder and more challenging. And we had so much available to us here and there's so many other intangibles. And so we just made a decision to set our life up in a certain way so we could live our life in a certain way. This is things that we all do as adults. This is adulting, right? And so it's not any different when you're thinking about how you might set yourself up in a timeframe in which you might not be quite as, your body doesn't work the same way as it used to. Same thought process.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I think so that leads me, I think really nicely into my last sort of myth that I, that I want to talk about here. And that's this idea that you're going to set something up and it's, and it's going to stay the same and you're going to stay the same or that you're how you think things are going to go are actually how it's going to go. Right. I think it's so easy to get lulled into this.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
trap of thinking that whoever you are right now is who you are going to be forever. And nothing could be further from the truth. I think that I'm probably a pretty different person now than I was 10 years ago. And in 10 years, another 10 years, I don't know who I will be. And I think that's probably true of everyone, right? We're not static systems. We're dynamic. We change all the time.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
And so thinking about aging place is something that you do, you make a plan and you do it once is probably not realistic. Instead, thinking about it as something that is always part of your decision -making process. Not like the thing that guides every single thing you do, right? It doesn't have to be that big, but just making it a part of your decision -making process. You know, how will this work if, or...
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
-huh. -huh.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
If something becomes less important to me, is this going to be flexible? How can something change with me versus requiring me to try to stay the same to fit into its parameters? And so I think that this idea that you plan to age in place once and then you're just done with it is kind of a big myth. It's really something that's an ongoing process.
and why I always am such a big proponent for flexible solutions that can change with you as your needs change as well.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, that's the huge thing about it. It's like thinking about what you want your life to look like, but then also thinking about which things can be put in place that can change with me as things change. I mean, we do this for kids all the time, right? You wanna, this is why they sell like these convertible crib things, right? Where it starts out as a crib and it goes to a toilet bed and it goes to a regular bed. Cause who wants to buy these three different things? Let's just do it in one thing. Cause we know.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm -hmm.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
a kid is gonna grow up. Well, we know our bodies are gonna change as we get older, so why not put things in place that can mold with us as we do those things? So yeah, that's a good point.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Dang, I think we, listen folks, all the world's problems, we can just, we're just gonna Care Lab it. There you go. No problem, no problem. Send it our way. All right, well, that was pretty good. That was pretty good talk. I think we Care Lab the heck out of it though.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
themselves.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
We could just K -Lab them.
Exactly. Exactly.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I agree, I agree. And if you agree, you should one, give, leave us a comment and let us know and tell us what you want us to care lab. Cause we are happy to problem solve. That's like the love and joy of an occupational therapist life is the problem solve. So let us do it for you. And then like and subscribe so that you can get the newest episode every Friday.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
All right, we'll see you next time on CureLab. Bye.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Bye.
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