Family Stress

Many studies speak of the negative impact on the health of family members who are placed under the stress of taking care of an ailing family member.

You have noticed that Dad sleeps all day and breaths heavy as he walks to the mailbox. You’ve seen Mom when she got confused about how much to pay the clerk at the grocery store.  When you planned their anniversary party last week, you realized that Dad was now 86 and Mom was 84 and wondered how much more time you would have with them.

As older people age, their adult children have a greater role in their lives.  Parents who are used to making all of their own decisions may have to depend on their adult children for everyday needs.  This is a difficult transition for everyone in the family.

INVISIBLE STRESS

We live in a busy world.  There is little time to take care of one more person.  We have become accustomed to so much stress that we are barely aware of that headache, or that forgetfulness, that tension, and those sleepless nights.  We have so much stress in our lives that we no longer even notice–it becomes invisible to us–invisible until Dad has a heart attack.

STRESS ABOUT ILLNESS

When that phone call comes, somehow everything else is put on the back burner.  Suddenly, you are thrust into the role of family caregiver.  Suddenly, in addition to dealing with the day-to-day concerns, you have to deal with a father who needs lots of extra help and a Mom who is totally at a loss of what to do.  In addition to all of the emotions, your are experiencing the added stress of making sure that your Dad’s medical needs are being addressed properly.  You need to talk to his doctors and learn as much as possible about Dad’s condition so you can help Mom understand what she is going to have to do for Dad.

You have become anxious about facing what each day may bring.  Exhaustion makes it almost impossible to complete your necessary daily tasks. You are distracted all day long and accomplishing less at work.  Your emotions become overwhelming, and they are causing disorientation among your family.

Once Dad is out of the woods and back on his feet, the family faces new stress filled days.  Both mom and dad, like almost everyone else, want to stay together in their own home.  They do not want to live with a family member and really, there isn’t a family member who has the time and energy to care for them.  But most of all,  Mom and Dad do not want to live in a facility.  They treasure their independence.  The whole family is now in turmoil.  You begin to worry about your own health.  You know that the doctor has told you to spend more time relaxing.  You know that you cannot relax while everything is so up in the air.

GOOD ALTERNATIVE

No matter how they feel, you know that Mom and Dad can no longer live at home without any help–it is not safe.  Home care may be the answer.  It seems to be something that might work for Mom and Dad.  With home care, they could have a caregiver look after them and they could still live in their own home.  After all, this is what they really want to do.

CHOOSING A HOME CARE AGENCY

The more you weigh the alternatives, the more you know that hiring a caregiver from the newspaper or on-line could never work.  This would probably increase your stress.  If this is going to work, you will need a professional home care agency.  You want the caregivers that help your Mom and Dad have full background checks and references.  You want them to be experienced working with older people.  You want to be sure that someone will be at their home if the caregiver is sick or has an emergency.  You want caregivers that are always supervised and that you can count on.  To reduce the stress in your life, you cannot worry about your parents every day and you cannot handle payroll, tax and liability issues.  You decide to hire a home care agency.  Once this decision has been made you realize how much peace of mind it gives you knowing that Mom and Dad will be able to stay at home, confident they are in good hands.  You realize that a tremendous burden that has been lifted.

QUALITY TIME

Now you realize that your time with Mom and Dad can be quality time.  Instead of spending your time with Mom and Dad cleaning their tub, doing their laundry, and cleaning their kitchen, you will be able to spend time enjoying them and doing things that you like to do together.  This way you can celebrate your lives together and spend the time you have left with them in ways that will build life long memories.

ALL FOR YOU HOME CARE

All For You Home Care provides support for the whole family. Our commitment is to help everyone in the family live satisfying lives.  When we start to work with an older person, we welcome the opportunity to help solve problems and lessen the burden.  Like all of us, older people treasure their independence.  More than 90% of seniors want to live in their own homes for as long as possible.  All For You Home Care makes this possible.  The WRAPAROUND program takes a promise and turns it into a service that wraps you in a circle of care. The WRAPAROUND program is a promise to do whatever it takes to bring peace of mind for all the family.