Assuming the role of caregiver for a loved one can be challenging and with the amount of stress and aggravation that comes with the job, you would think that the caregiver would rather turn the loved one over to a nursing home or other organized care facility. However, the opposite it true!
While the trials and tribulations of caregiving can be quite intense, most of the time caregivers are grateful to have had that time with their loved ones. They report that it is an experience they were glad to have, despite the problems
I absolutely love this. My Dad is in the mild stages of dementia, and I know there may be a time when I cannot physically care for him, but I wouldn’t trade the time we have spent together for anything. My Dad has always been there for me and this is just one small way that I can try to repay him. My husband passed away in January so it has also been a huge comfort to me for my Dad to have moved in with me. I hated living alone. Now I have a reason to get up out of bed each morning. It is difficult at times hearing them repeat things over and over, not remembering what you might have just told them, but the good far outweighs the bad. I remember when they had to put my Aunt (my Dad’s Sister) in a nursing facility because she had dementia and her husband was no longer able to care for her. When we visited her, she would be strapped in a wheelchair or tied in the bed. I know that the nursing facility had to do this so she wouldn’t fall, but I don’t think I know how hard this would be seeing my Dad in the same situation. I pray that my health will hold out and that he will never have to be put in a facility, but I pray also that if he does, that God will give me the peace of mind that I did everything I could do for him.
My real problem is not that we have Derek with Alzheimers. We also have my husband’s brother with his Parkinson’s. But how do we “sell” this all to our children 9 and 12 year’s old who are really needing lot’s of our attention – puberty is at the door and all the rest. They sometimes become quite hostile and I hate it but I can also see their point of view….as much as they love these old men it is a lot for them to also have around the table and around the house all the time…
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