A Tale of Love, Family Conflict and Battles Over Care for an Aging Mother

"Edith + Eddie," a documentary nominated for an Oscar, chronicles the intense family struggle over caring for an aging parent, reports Kaiser Health News . The short is an intimate look at three distressed daughters concerning the care of an aged mother with dementia, with courtroom disputes adding to their stress. After their mother received the dementia diagnosis in 2011, she was assigned to a guardian even though one daughter had wanted the job. In a court filing, the daughter alleged that the guardian had emptied her mother's bank account of $11,000 and was refusing to return the funds. A few years later, after protracted family bickering and legal maneuvering, the assigned guardian ceded guardianship. The three daughters then became their mother's co-guardians, but further disagreements ensued. "I do believe all three sisters loved their mother but they each had their own idea of how to handle things," notes Joshua Bushman, who became the mother's guardian ad litem in 2011. This feud between siblings did not improve as the mother's mental health deteriorated. The mother died in 2017 at the age of 98, living with one daughter in Florida. The film leaves open the question of who truly had her best interests in mind.