Skin Deep

Selwyn talks about his 92-year-old mother, who's suffering from red-bordered lesion, with some central necrosis and crusting on her lower back. He has noticed that lately she has demonstrated less modesty about enlisting his help or assessment involving different parts of her body--he's still not sure whether this reflects the disinhibition of starting to lose some of her cognitive edge, or maybe the surrender to practicality of a 92-year-old who realizes she can't manage her daily life as independently as before. Either way, it makes him slightly uncomfortable; not for lack of familiarity with the landscape of the body, in his 30 years as a physician, but rather that his mother is leading him into a territory that he may not feel ready to explore with her. More recently, it has become clear that she's no longer able to manage her regular medications or medical appointments, and he has been helping her with these tasks as well.