DiMarie,
I think Finz and Curious had great ideas. The "senior" group is booming and there is a big demand for people who can come in and offer a particular expertise. My husband and I both have mothers who live alone- his is in her mid 70's and mine is in her late 60's. His mother is in very bad health but refuses any help or to leave her home. My mother is in better shape but there's still alot of things she just can't do anymore. Of course I know you'd have to work around your health problems but with your degree I think you could almost build your business as you go- as in the old saying, "see a need, and fill it". Speaking from my experiences and those of friends and relatives, I can tell you there is a real need for patient advocates, especially for elderly people but also for those who are basically alone and don't know the "ropes" as far as the healthcare system goes. There is also a need for people that will drive patients to dr.'s appts. and for hospital procedures. Afterall, what do people do who have nobody in their area to drive them if they're not able? There might also be a need for an advocate in the hosp. The security idea is also good- as in checking their homes for problems. Maybe you could charge a monthly "fee" for the service- and make it include a once or twice a month "visit" to check on their security and see if anything needs changing,etc. There are also people who need help with shopping- would your son be able to bring in groceries for someone who is homebound? What about you helping someone plan nutritional meals or maybe you could "cater" something simple and easy to reheat. Or make sure their prescriptions are filled and that they understand when to take it and how- like some meds can't be combined with others and some can't be taken with grapefruit juice,etc.- and ALOT of people simply don't know this. My grandmother died a couple of years ago at age 98 and she LOVED to read all of her life, but she couldn't drive anymore to get herself to the library so my mother went regularly for her- that's another idea. Could your son and you do some light housekeeping? Sometimes it's hard for people, especially after surgery, to change their sheets or wash a load of clothes. There's also a need for people who will "sit" with people who are recovering from surgery or an illness- they don't always need a nurse, but someone who is there if needed. I will tell you that alot of elderly people are really afraid of having strangers in the house and are worried about the honesty of people they allow in their homes so with your law background that would probably make a big difference. You could basically set your own hours. I think there's a huge market for something like this- alot of baby boomers are looking for people to help their parents if they can't be there. I think you would be perfect for something like this. I'll try to see if I can come up with anything else.

Edited to add- Here's another thought- Could your son set up DVD players and other electronic equipment for senior citizens or anybody who is "technology challenged"? I say this because when my mother bought her VHS player years ago and more recently her DVD player, she had NO clue how to hook it up to her TV and had to wait until my son was up there to do it for her, and to show her how to use it. The same goes for setting up computers for people who know nothing about 'em.