What Can You Do if Elder Care Consumes Your Life?
This question led to our Caring for Caregivers Seminars.
“I have to cancel the dinner party. My mother had a mini-stroke!”
My friend’s frantic call marked the second time in a month she had canceled a social event. Both times, her mother’s assisted living facility had rushed the 96-year-old to an emergency room following symptoms of a TIA (mini-stroke).
My friend’s situation reminded me of my own exhausting days as a caregiver. For as long as I could remember, my mother had said, “Don’t put me in a nursing home.” I promised her I never would, so when she developed dementia and could no longer live alone, my spouse and I brought her to live with us.
But although I embraced caregiving with love and a strong resolve to do the right thing, I soon discovered it was overwhelming and disruptive. Visions of my mother and I enjoying long lunches and laughing together at our favorite TV shows were replaced by the reality of a woman who was descending more deeply into dementia’s relentless grip.
Caregiving is not for the faint of heart, and my experience is not an isolated example. Consider the alarming statistics. Caregivers have a significantly higher mortality rate compared to non-caregivers, with around 30 percent of caregivers…
