My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare [Hardcover]

Luisa Margolies (Author), Walter M., II Bortz (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

Some 400,000 hip fractures occur every year, the vast majority among the elderly; all too often these fractures are associated with death or severe disability. After her mother's double hip fracture, Luisa Margolies immersed herself in identifying and coordinating the services and professionals needed to provide critical care for an elderly person. She soon realized that the American medical system is ill prepared to deal with the long-term care needs of our graying society. The heart of "My Mother's Hip" is taken up with the author's day-to-day observations as her mother's condition worsened, then improved only to worsen again, while her father became increasingly anxious and disoriented.As both a devoted daughter and a skilled anthropologist, Margolies vividly renders her interactions with physicians, nurses, hospital workers, nursing home administrators, the Medicare bureaucracy, home care providers, and her parents. In the Lessons chapter that follows each episode, she discusses in a broader context the weighty decisions that adult children must make on their parents' behalf and the emotional toll their responsibility takes. Here she addresses the complex practical issues that commonly arise in such situations: understanding the consequences of hip fracture and its treatment, preparing health care proxies and advanced directives, enabling elders to remain at home, and the heartbreaking dilemma of prolonging life.Like many adult children, Margolies learned her lessons about eldercare in the midst of crises. This book is intended to ease the information-gathering and decision-making processes for others involved in eldercare. Luisa Margolies is Clinical Research Director of the Hip Fracture Research Project of South Florida; she serves as a consultant on aging-in-place as well as housing, assistive technology, and universal design for the elderly. She also is Director of Ediciones Venezolanas de Antropologia in Caracas, Venezuela.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I would love to use [this] book with a class of gerontology and public policy students to launch a discussion of what a better care system would entail and how we might harness caregiver anger to achieve it. I'd also like to see narratives like this in lots of adult discussion groups in churches and synagogues, so family caregivers to those with serious and eventually fatal chronic illness start their work better prepared." Medical Humanities Review "[T]his very readable book offers a unique view of the effect that illness has on the entire fabric of a patient's life. It will be of interest to both physicians and non-physicians involved in elder care, as well as to the elders themselves." The New England Journal of Medicine "the book reads like a novel, [and] is very skilfully written." The Senior Times "In My Mother's Hip, Luisa Margolies has written two powerful books in one. The chapters of her caregiving experience read like a novel, one that more and more Americans are living every day. Her alternating chapters, called 'Lessons,' build a compelling argument for fixing--and humanizing--the fragmented system of long-term care in the United States. Every older American, family caregiver, and provider of health and social services should read this remarkable book." --Gloria Cavanaugh, President and CEO, American Society on Aging "In My Mother's Hip, Luisa Margolies seamlessly integrates medical information with an intensely personal story that includes the frustration and fear that result from caring--and not always knowing how to care--for people you love. She explores end-of-life issues with the certainty of one who's been there. She knows how elusive the right answers can be and in their absence, how necessary are the qualities of patience, love, and understanding." --Nick Taylor, author of A Necessary End "My Mother's Hip should be mandatory reading for all those who treat hip fracture patients as well as for the families of the patients. Luisa Margolies has captured the true impact of a hip fracture--on the patient, their family, and on our society." --Joseph D. Zuckerman, M.D., Professor and Chairman, NYU-Hospital for Joint Diseases, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery "My Mother's Hip is a splendid and troubling book. Two of the great problems that come from medical progress are the use of technologies that can be less than perfect and the care of the chronically ill elderly by their children. This book is a wonderful exploration of what it means to be a dutiful daughter and a troubled surrogate decision-maker. Luisa Margolies' skills as an anthropologist bring those dilemmas to life in a compelling and readable fashion." --Daniel Callahan, Director, International Program, The Hastings Center

From the Publisher

What most of us don't know about the longevity revolution --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 339 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592132375
• ISBN-13: 978-1592132379
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,573,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must, September 6, 2004

By 

Ronald P. Grelsamer (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare (Paperback)

As the population ages hip fractures are becoming more prevalent. This is a must read for anyone caring for a loved one who's suffered a hip fracture.
As an orthopedic surgeon I'm recommending this book to my patients.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great support for caregivers and those they love, January 9, 2005

By 

AKM (Evergreen CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare (Paperback)

I stumbled across this book in my local library, while searching for sources of information and guidance as I entered the caregiving relationship with my mother. While our circumstances are somewhat different than the author's, I found this book to be a helpful balance of personal narrative and issue identification and clarification. The scholarly background brings some heft to this very tender story. I bought two copies, one for my brother and one for my caregiver's support group.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant tale of caring, June 17, 2010

By 

Nancy Loderick "Internet strategist" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare (Paperback)

Luise writes from her heart and that's why this story is so compelling. Luise chronicles her experience caring for her elderly parents. She alternates with factual chapters about nursing homes, medical care for the elderly and other elder care information.

I spent a few years caring for my elderly father so this book really resonated for me. Her honest depiction of the emotional, physical and financial impacts of caring for elderly parents brought me to tears at times. Sibling dynamics add to the stress and Luise talks about these without judgment.

At first, I wasn't sure that I liked the factual chapters mixed in with the story, but in the end, it really added to the book.

This book is important reading for anyone caring for elderly relatives. We can learn from Luise's experience and also know what to expect with our own relatives. It helps to know there are other people who have gone through the same thing.