Living with Uncertainty: Older Persons’ Lived Experience of Making Independent Decisions over Time

Table 2

Subthemes, themes, and main theme.

Sub-themes	Theme	Main theme
Relying on others to manage one’s life	One’s independence lies in the hands of others	Living with uncertainty as to how to relate to independence and dependence with regard to oneself and others
Deciding for oneself is beyond one’s reach
Waiting for others to come
Deciding for oneself when to become involved	One’s independence lies in one’s own hands
Managing oneself with professional carers as an extended arm
Handing over the decisions to others
Giving and taking in the relationship with professional carers
Neglecting one’s own needs to allow for the needs of others	Adjusting one’s own independence and dependence with regard to oneself and others
Withholding one’s thoughts