Taking Away the Keys: Caregivers

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, October 28 and December 16, 2007
Show 424

Most people get into their car every day and drive places without thinking twice about it. But as a care giver, you have to think twice about your loved one's driving. When it's time to take the car keys away, how can you do it without damaging your loved one's dignity? Mardi, a caregiver for her 86-year-old mother June, had several conversations about her driving and discussed the idea of giving up the keys. "I recognize it's a very difficult thing to do. It gives everyone independence. And my mother's been driving for a long, long time," says Mardi. "It didn't hurt my feelings but it was hard to hear. It reminded me that one part of my life was over," says June. But in the end, June agreed with Mardi. She knew she had her best interest in mind, and gave up her keys on her own. Dr. Jamie Huysman says it doesn't always go that easy. "It's one of the most difficult things that a care giver has to do. Just make sure that you're not doing it on your own, but you're bringing in the proper resources to actually do what Mardi and June did," he says.