We've put it off. We've tried to ignore it. We made all the excuses. But the sad fact is 70 percent of all Americans end up needing long-term care. So, as much as I hate paying for more insurance, we'll be signing the dotted line sometime this month.
It's perhaps shocking that I haven't purchased long-term care insurance before now. After all, mom's been in a home for over three years. Plus, if not for dad, she would have needed in-home care for at least six years before being placed. I suppose it's a case of being in denial and also hoping I've pulled more from dad's gene pool than mom's.
But, truth is, even if I don't get dementia, there are 1000s of other diseases and accidents that could land me in a long-term care facility. Plus, thanks to modern medicine, people are living longer. And, the longer a person lives, the greater the odds they'll need long-term care. I often think it's too bad mom had bypass surgery eighteen years ago. Without that surgery, odds are she would have died instantly of a major heart attack years before she was hit with "dementia with signs of Alzheimer's disease." Then all of us would have been spared ten years and counting of heartache and pain.
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