|
Duty Calls now
Impact on Family
Financial
Time Costs
- Usually one female child carries burden of care
Strain on family relationships
Covering a Life
Shopping for groceries, clothes, misc.
Meal planning and preparation
Sitter Services
Moving to a Retirement Community
How to tell when a Senior needs Help
When a pattern of neglect develops -
Poor grooming - sloppy appearance, infrequent bathing...
Basic tasks - difficulty eating, dressing, walking, cooking, managing medications...
Isolation - not maintaing outside friendships or interests, no hobbies...
Erratic Attitude - Paranoid, refuses to communicate, extremely argumentative,
abusing alcohol or drugs...
Dementia - consistent memory lapses, confusion, loss of reasoning skills, difficulty
answering questions, gets lost walking or driving, inability to find the right
word...
Health - Black and blue marks(may be falling), bed wetting (urinary incontinence),
complains of dehydration(thirsty), weight loss, problems swallowing...
What can you do?
- Educate yourself by reading. Many, many excellent books are written on this
subject. Two similar books are:
How to Care for Aging Parents by Virginia Morris
The Complete Eldercare Planner by Joy Loverde
- Talk to your parent NOW before they have need for your care. Have them write
things down and get them notarized. That way there will be less of a chance
of dispute
- Everyones level of care needed is different. The senior may just need a “safe
house”. That means, railings in the bathrooms, possibly a higher toilet,
seating to be 21” from floor, etc. Physical therapists can give you a
list of “safe things”.
- There are also many volunteer resources out in our community. I personally
have not tapped in to them because I have found that her condition keeps deteriorating
so fast. However, there is Meals on Wheels...
There are also things seniors use to make their lives better...new more adaptable
walkers (three wheels), telephones with volume control, automatic on/off appliances,
remote-control devices, bathroom fixtures(shower stool, raised toilet seat,
grab bar).
I also put together two lists that are of great assistance. The first is her
medication chart which I keep updated. I print three of these at a time.
When she goes to a doctor or a hospital, they ALWAYS know what she is taking
specifically and what she is alergic to and who her doctors are. All doctors
phone numbers are on it.
The second list is one with her friends phone numbers on it so when that day
comes, someone will be able to contact loved ones to spread the news. I also
have her wishes concerning songs and bible verses she will want, etc.
|
