When your elderly parent’s health continues to deteriorate, it’s time to have them cared for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is your responsibility as their child to look after them properly. While your parents may be opposed to the idea of leaving their home, their health must come first, and it may be time to consider other possibilities.
The requirement for round-the-clock care could be one-time or recurring. After a severe injury or while recovering from surgery, a person may require interim care. Individuals with specific needs or poor cognitive abilities may require constant assistance. The following are examples of events that indicate your parent requires 24-hour care:
- Personal neglect: if your parents fail to take their medication or maintain their hygiene regularly, they are in desperate need of home care.
- Severe mobility limitations: they are at risk of falling, and without a caregiver to oversee daily activities, a serious accident could occur. Furthermore, mobility issues prohibit aging persons from conducting domestic duties and engaging in typical daily activities.
- Poorly controlled depression or anxiety: While depression and anxiety do not usually result in cognitive deficiencies, they can get so severe that the person suffering from them becomes debilitated and unable to function.
- Relying on assistive equipment: If your elderly parents leave the house infrequently and only for a short time with assistive equipment such as a wheelchair, crutches, walker, or another person, it’s a symptom that they need monitoring. By using care software it is very easy to monitor multiple tasks at the same time.
- Physical function decline: you may observe a decline in your parents’ physical ability, whether they are merely getting older or have been diagnosed with autoimmune illnesses.
- Mental decline: if your parents start forgetting names and places, as well as misplacing stuff, it’s a sign they can’t do it on their own. They must be looked after.
- Uncertainty behind the wheel: did you notice slower reaction times, distraction, or nervousness while running errands or shopping with your parents? If you exhibit any strange behaviors, now is the moment to address them.
While relocating your elderly parent to a nursing home or an assisted living facility are two choices, an increasing number of older people are looking for ways to stay at home. In the elderly living spaces, they receive round-the-clock care. For individuals facing cognitive challenges seeking professional assistance and exploring memory care options such as Avista Senior Living. The stress of caring for elderly parents is unavoidable, but many solutions are available to help you continue to care for your parents.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to proceed:
1. Be Honest With Your Employer About Caregiving And Working
If you’re working full-time while caring for a loved one, having a flexible, understanding, and supporting workplace is essential. You cannot manage anything without the help of your boss. Be open and honest with your supervisor about your work as a caregiver.
If your workplace does not support or accommodate your demands, it may be time to find a new job or reduce your hours to part-time. Being a caretaker for an aging loved one may, of course, be compensated. Veterans Affairs and Medi-Cal both have programs that financially reward family carers, allowing you to reduce your burden while maintaining your income.
2. Practice Regular Self-Care
If you want to run efficiently, you must take care of your body. It’s important to remember that your body and mind are inextricably linked. You will think and feel better if you take care of your body. This includes how you feed your body, how much sleep you receive, how much physical activity you get, and how well you look after your physical and mental needs. You can have a positive attitude about caring for your older parents without feeling stressed if you are in good health.
3. Delegate And Ask For Support
Taking care of an aging parent can be exhausting both physically and emotionally. Don’t be afraid to seek assistance from siblings, close relatives, or even a caretaker to relieve you of some of your responsibilities. Many healthcare companies offer respite care to families who require temporary assistance in caring for aging relatives.
Furthermore, if you need skilled nursing care for your loved one, research and compare different facilities to ensure they provide the best quality of care. Feel free to ask for recommendations because finding a facility that meets your loved one’s needs and provides a comfortable and supportive environment is vital.
4. Care Management Services
You may not always be able to be available to care for your loved ones. You might consider care management services from a variety of agencies or locations in such situations. They can assist your seniors when they require assistance or even transport them to the doctor in the event of an emergency. If necessary, you can seek paid help on your end. However, you must register them with sufficient identification confirmation before keeping them.
5. Utilize Flexible Scheduling
While a daily routine should be followed religiously, it should not be so rigorous that it leaves no room for error. Changes in the weather, appointment cancellations and other unforeseen events are sure to occur, but they should not wreck your entire daily schedule. Create a backup plan, then try to stay on track with your day as much as possible to prepare for the unexpected.
The daily routine should be based on your loved one’s needs, but it should not neglect your own. If something in the pattern isn’t working for one of you, be open to changing it to work for both of you. Seasons and weather vary, your loved one’s health varies, and they become bored, and their interests change; therefore, you may need to adjust the routine.
6. Check With An Adult Day Program
Keeping your parent occupied can be as simple as enrolling them in an adult program. These programs are designed to meet the requirements of senior citizens and assist them in socializing. You can enroll them in a full-day program or just a few hours. Social interaction and enjoyable hobbies improve their mood and minimize stress. It also aids in the regulation of their sleep patterns and appetites.
It takes time to find the ideal blend for your senior parents’ well-being and pleasure. The situation is fluid and might change over time, even day to day. It would help if you kept informed, take into account their happiness and comfort, and utilize the 6-step approach and supportive resources. That way, you’ll be able to provide the best care for your aging parents. If you’re in Winnipeg and in need of exceptional private care services, I strongly suggest hiring Right at Home in Winnipeg, a trusted provider known for their compassionate and reliable care.
