When others take care of her mother, Ginny worries that she is giving them a lot of responsibility.
Transcript
For caregivers, I think, one of the best things that happened for me was when my brother came up for two weeks, and my husband and I went on a holiday, and my brother and his wife came up and stayed with my mother for two weeks. And it was wonderful, because I was comfortable leaving her. And I think that if they could do that more often, and just not expect me to even be here, and just for me to go away for a week, that would be wonderful. We, my husband and I, were able to do that once—go away without worrying about her. Even though, other times we have gone, but we’ve relied on my daughter or my sister-in-law, my husband’s wife, and her husband—my husband’s wife…I’m my husband’s wife—my husband’s sister and her husband to take care of my mother.
So that’s really putting a lot of responsibility on them. And then, I’m still calling every night to see how she’s doing, or face timing them. Thank goodness we have the means to do that. Or they would bring my mom over to my sister-in-law’s house for supper and we could face time. So, that is a real bonus for us.
More from: Ginny
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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.