Getting Into Care Giving
It’s really great to have your parents as you grow up and grow older too. To watch you through your many milestones, to play the fond grandparents to your children. Somehow, whenever they are around, you feel young and treasured. However, as they grow older, things subtly begin to change. With age, comes the corollary that one day they are going to be in a situation when they become helpless and you are going to have to become their caregiver. Suddenly, the old order changes and from becoming someone who helps them along occasionally, you could very quickly become someone they totally depend on.
Very often, this transition takes place a bit too quickly, before you have the time to accept it or prepare for it. It just slips into a pattern where you are never quite sure when exactly you took charge and became the caregiver - you just wake up one fine day and realize that it has come upon you. If it doesn’t quite creep up on you it could be that one parent dies and suddenly, the other becomes totally helpless and dependent on you. Almost overnight, the parent you always saw as strong and supportive now needs you to be a support.
What would be a good idea wherever possible is to ease yourself into the situation. This makes it so much easier not just for you but for everyone around to get used to the new situation. This could include your own family, siblings, your boss and colleagues and your parents’ friends circle. You could start by making some changes in the senior’s place to make things more comfortable. Then, a weekly visit could become a few times a week and then if necessary every day. Let’s take a look at how you can cope better if your parents are still living in their own house and you have to oversee things for them.
The first thing to do is to make sure they do not have to climb up and down but have everything at one single level. It is not advisable to have the old traipsing up and down stairs. Then, you can make it easier by reducing the number of chores they have to do. If the food could be delivered and cleaning services availed of, it would be a good start. If you could arrange for a home care professional to look in for an hour or so a week, it would be a good thing as they would also ensure that the medications were being taken regularly and in the right way. The kitchen could also be changed around to make things easier as well as safer. Go through the whole place to see if any support like hand rails and bars are needed to make moving around easier. Check the light sources too to see if they are bright enough and the switches easily accessible.
These things don’t just pertain to the home, it could be done even if your parents were to be moved to an assisted living center. Making sure that they are as comfortable as possible, makes it easier on you too as you move into the total caregiver area.
