Having a new home care worker every day was difficult for Ginny and her mother. Eventually, Ginny decided they might be better off without the help.
Transcript
I think there was lots that could have been done when my mother was living with me, but I didn’t know about the supports or it took so long to get them. I remember making an appointment for someone to come to my house, and to get the caregiver to come to relieve me even when I was going to work, and so she came and she did some tests with my mom. And then she said, “You qualify for the 45 minutes,” and it took so long for us to get that and then to find somebody to be there. And then, when they found somebody to be there, I found that that person didn’t come—it was somebody else who came, because they weren’t the same person every day. It was just very, it was very difficult. It was very difficult to for me to have somebody new every day, because I had to, I was explaining every day what to do or where to find the sandwich in the fridge or how to help my mother, and I just found it very time consuming. I found that I might as well do it myself, because it was—if I could have the same person or even just switch off one person, 2 people and both of them would take it. But I just found that it was just too difficult. And so in the end, it was either friends I counted on who knew my mom or me. I still had a person come 3 days a week for my mom when I was—I tried to take on a part-time job. In my position, I couldn’t have my full-time job anymore, but I could do something on contract. And so, I tried to have a caregiver come 3 times a week for an hour, but I paid for that myself. And even there, we got used to one person and then they changed, and then they changed again. So, that’s really hard when you’re used to one person. And I think my mom found it really hard too, because she never knew who was coming or what was happening.
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- Support from family and friends – GinnyWhen others take care of her mother, Ginny worries that she is giving them a lot of responsibility.
- Society and caregiving – GinnyGinny has learned how important it is to do nice things for others. She hopes she will have the time to continue visiting the nursing home to brighten people’s days.
- Resources – GinnyWhen Ginny’s mother was late to go to her care group, Ginny decided to pay someone to help her mother get ready.
- Navigating the system – GinnyGinny’s friend is a nurse practitioner. She can ask her to see her mother.
- Home care and live-in caregivers – GinnyHaving a new home care worker every day was difficult for Ginny and her mother. Eventually, Ginny decided they might be better off without the help.
- Health system issues – GinnyWhen Ginny found support, it always arrived almost too late. She wishes the system could be more proactive.
- Caring for yourself – GinnyWhen Ginny’s mother is in “crisis mode”, everything is put on hold until things return to normal, including Ginny’s hobbies.
- Becoming a caregiver – GinnyWhen Ginny’s father died, it became clear that her mother could no longer stay at home alone; Ginny invited her mother to stay with her for a few weeks.