Caregiving For the Elderly is An Extra Job
About 5 years ago my grandfather died and my Grammy didn’t want to leave her home. My mother, like many other babyboomers, took the responsibility to manage my Grammy’s household and health care. It has been a stressful process for my mother to honor my Grammy wishes to allow her to continue to live in her home. Now at 97 years old it is not possible for my Grammy to live alone. She is very self-sufficient but does need help maintaining her daily and weekly routines. She is proud that she only takes 4 prescription medications this is less the national average for elderly people. It is quite impressive. Still we have to be concerned about her congestive heart failure that is slowly and steadily affecting her overall health.
About 6 months ago I moved into my Grammy house and I too began to help manage the house and daily activities. In the last several weeks I have started to accompany my Grammy to some of her doctor visits and therapy sessions. I have learned that care giving takes a lot of planning and is a lot of work! There are so many things I didn’t expect to deal with like how to help her in and out of the car, insurance papers, medication times, how much company is too much for her day. What does she need from the grocery store today? Is she sleeping enough or too much? I am entering into a totally different type of being a care-giver than being a doctor and it is much more difficult than I thought. This short-term experience has given me so much more compassion for care-givers and shines a light on the need for special time to rejuvenate away from the people they are helping.
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Dae's website: www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's book: Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living can be purchased @ www.amazon.com or www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's Bio:
Daemon "Dr. Dae" (pronounced Dr. Day) Jones is a Naturopathic Physician who completed her training at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is certified as a General Practitioner by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE).
