I had absolutely no idea of what I was doing when I started caring for my Mom. Being childless by choice, the little bit of caregiving I knew came from tending to my group of rescue dogs. I did pretty well with keeping them alive so how hard would it be to turn my same skills to the care of my Mom? WAY HARD, I tell ya!
Actually, being my Mom’s caregiver came sort of naturally to me. During the last 6 months of my Dad’s life, I flew out to Arizona every 6-8 weeks to gather up my folks and take them to Laughlin for their gambling fix. I didn’t know it was the last 6 months we’d have together as Dad was perfectly healthy, but, with Dad at 89 and Mom at 90, I figured I needed to get my time in with them. And, boy, am I glad I did. I not only got to gamble with them, but I also saw how strangers would flock to my parents. There was literally a line waiting for a seat at their blackjack table. One man asked me if I knew how lucky I was to have them as parents – the resounding answer was ‘YES.’
So, when Dad died suddenly toward the end of his 89th year, it was quite natural for Mom to come live with me. She moved into my house in Maryland and the game was on! Those next 5 years would give me a wealth of knowledge about being a caregiver for an elderly person – one who was incredibly easy to care for. And, even more important to me, I have a lifetime of wonderful memories of life with my elderly Mom. Yes, I was lucky, indeed.
So, in this section of Good Gifts For Caregivers, I’ll focus on those items I found incredibly helpful to have on hand in my caregiving role. There’s some things you might have thought about and some things I’ll bet you didn’t.
And, to all those caregivers out there, you are my heros. The caregiving path may be sometimes difficult, sometimes heartbreaking but, at least to me, it was the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I hope your journey is the same.
Lori.
Feel free to leave me comments or questions. I check the site frequently and will make every effort to answer your questions.