Don’t turn down help, even if your care recipient is refusing it. Use the help available to you. Matsonia explains that the caregiver must be careful not to burn out.
Transcript
Yeah don’t be stubborn like I was; don’t turn down help. Never dismiss the idea that you’ll never get burned out, because it does happen. If you are a 24/7 caregiver and if you put into it as much as I do you will get burned out and you won’t know it. Don’t listen to your spouse if they’re refusing homecare; just do it. It really is nice, mind you, I don’t care for homecare that well because then it means I have to leave the house. And also with homecare, if they send you a different person every time, then you just can’t leave the home and leave a complete stranger in your home while you take off and go do shopping. You have to take this person through a half an hour to an hour orientation, telling them you know what he’s not supposed to be doing or what he’s supposed to be doing. Like, the rule in this house is he stays out of the cupboards, he stays out of the refrigerator, because he’s ripped doors off cupboards—things like that—and then it’s cost me $60 to get them repaired. He’s not allowed to go into the bathroom by himself because he’ll fall down, or get naughty. And so, […]it’s amazing when you’re dealing with a new person and you have to tell them what you know in a short period of time so that things don’t go awry while you’re gone. I mean it’s not any different than you leaving a child with a babysitter. You don’t leave your child with a complete stranger, do you? And you’re sure not going to let your child run amuck in your home either.
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