Sunshiners: Frail Old People Living At Home

What’s a Sunshiner? Frail old people who have five or more of these characteristics:

• I’m near the end of my life.
• Every day I need help doing things that matter.
• I don’t want to be a burden on the people I love.
• I have trouble getting around, trouble with my memory, or both.
• I care more about being comfortable than I do about living longer.
• I would love to take less medication.
• I don’t want to go to the hospital.

Sunshiners deserve our love, time and care. We need to think very carefully before sending them to a hospital or treating them with drugs because they belong at home. They need permission from society as a whole, from doctors and other medical professionals, and especially from their own family caregivers to choose how they spend their last few years on this earth.