My sister and I grew up in upstate New York. Now, my mother is 83 years old. Since my father died twelve years ago, Mom has been living alone in the house where we grew up. She has always been independent and yet very connected to her seven siblings, who live in the area. Nearly a year ago, Mom came down with a bad case of shingles which persisted for four months, no matter what she did. Within two weeks of recovery, she had a recurrence of shingles.

We actually moved both my husband's mother and my mother into our home to provide care for them at different times in the last several years. Here is how it all came about.  Almost six years ago, my husband's brother gave us a week's notice that we had to take care of my mother-in-law. He said he was overwhelmed and he needed to take care of his own marital problems before he had a calamity. So, we moved my mother-in-law into our home and made a bedroom on the first floor of the house.