I was reminded of the show when I saw a recent announcement that the first shoes with GPS tracking will be sold in the United States.  No, they aren’t being made for government agents but rather for seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.  Wandering is a problem for many Alzheimer’s patients who then get lost when they can’t remember their way home.  A GPS tracking system in their shoe can make it easy for family and police to find them.

 While bracelets and pendants can do the same thing, seniors often won’t wear one because they don’t recognize it as being theirs so they remove it.  By placing the GPS in the heel of the shoe, the senior won’t know it’s there.  As the number of Americans afflicted with Alzheimer’s is expected  quadruple in the next 20 years the costs to society will be many.  Technology will play a big role in solving this growing problem.

 Interestingly,  the original idea was to create the shoe for long distance runners and children.  A college professor who was an advisor to the project, convinced the company which manufactures them that it would be best suited to seniors with memory issues.

Who knows whether anyone had Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone in mind when the idea of the GPS shoe was first discussed?  But, it’s a pretty neat idea which just may save lives and reduce a lot of stress for families concerned for their loved ones’ safety.

Dad has dementia and the children are told by his girlfriend’s children that they must take Dad back with them since the home is not his.  They fly him back to New York and place him in a nursing home.

The story deals with the relationships of the characters, the upheaval of their lives and the typical issues that we all must deal with, from finding the right long term care setting to sitting down with Dad to discuss his living will and burial arrangements to the conflicting emotions felt by the children who are trying to do the right thing.

The film even touches upon second marriages (or in this case a long term relationship).  The children are stunned to learn that Dad has no right to live in the home because he signed an agreement waiving all rights.  Having little money, his children must place him in a nursing home and apply for Medicaid.

The movie is both funny and sad but it is comforting to know that we all, regardless of wealth, cannot escape the issues of aging and dying and that sometimes the experience can bring families closer together.