Elder Care: Emailing a parent who doesn't have a computer

First, apologies for my evident sloth before, during and after the holidays. But, that's over now, and I have a number of items stored up that I'm excited to share with other elder caregivers and care managers.

The item I'm currently most thrilled about is the Presto machine and service. I know this sounds like an espresso machine, but it isn't. Basically it's an HP printer/fax, combined with an email printing service, which enables someone who doesn't have a computer to receive emails from you in printed form.

Here's why I'm thrilled. I live far away from my aging mother, so for months at a time my only contact with her is via phone calls. As my mother sinks into the dark recesses of dementia her world has shrunk to the very immediate present. Lately, I've realized that it's become hard for her to carry on more extended conversations, because she can't remember what the original topic was about. After we've reviewed her weather and my weather, there's nothing much else to talk about. And the upshot of that is that I am less inclined to call her, even though I'm aware that she needs the contact with me even more. What to do?

Enter the Presto machine and service combo. Here's how it works. You buy the printing machine for your parent. The machine will reside in their home. This is a one-time capital outlay of between $120-$150 depending from whom you purchase it. Along with it, you sign up for the Presto service, which costs about $12.50 a month for a year's service. When you sign up, you create an email address for your parent(s), and enter in the email addresses of all those who are allowed to send email to them. This ensures no spam is transmitted to your folks' home. As well, you declare the 3 times per day when printed emails should be transmitted to the printer. All of this is adjustable as time passes.

Here's what the Presto service does:

1. It accumulates all emails to your parent's email address.
   
2. It prints them out on eye-catching templates along with whatever photos you may attach.
   
3. Thrice daily the Presto machine checks your parent's mailbox automatically for waiting transmissions and then prints them out, again, automatically.
   
4. All this happens right in your parent's home with their having to lift a finger.
   
5. Voila, your parent has the latest news from you (your brother, a distant cousin), along with photographs (if you wish), to have and to hold and to review and to show their friends.
   
6. Other good uses for the machine are to send reminders to parents: about appointments, taking their medication, picking up an item at the store. If you're travelling it's a great way to keep in touch without worrying about time zones or the expense of overseas calls. And what about instant photos of grandchildrens' birthdays, soccer games, school plays, and all those other aspects of daily life that a faraway grandparent so often misses.

Honestly, what a wonderful thing the Presto is. I'm so happy about this I can hardly stand it. Of course, the printed page doesn't replace the sound of a loved one's voice. And keep in mind this is a one-way service, i.e., one cannot use the Presto machine to send you emails as it's purely a receiver and printer. For me that's no obstacle as my elderly mother wouldn't be able to figure out how to use it anyway. The simplicity and automatism of this device is its beauty. In my view, it just may add a whole new aspect to quality of life, helping many family members keep in closer touch than they otherwise could.

Click on this link to go to the Presto website