I think a parent begging or demanding to "go home" pushes more emotional buttons than most adult children could ever imagine.
The reality? Even with lots of emotional and physical support, it can be almost impossible to keep someone at home who needs 24 hour a day care and supervision. If you are doing it mostly (or totally) alone, you are asking more of yourself than anyone else could ever expect of you.
If we can help your loved one become stronger, healthier, able to help care for themselves (in whole or in part) then it can work, when that goal is reached. Many people do go home, and with support from home healthcare, bureaus of the aging, and family, do manage for the rest of their lives, to be "home".
But, what if they don't get better, or stronger? How many staff does it take, to put Mom to bed at night? Take her to the bathroom? Transfer her from bed to chair?
Watch your parent in therapy. Watch how trained staff meets their needs.
Can you do this? Twenty four hours a day?
I know your mom (or dad) took care of you. But, you did not weigh over 100 pounds (and dead weight is not just an expression). You did not have fragile, aging skin that tore with the slightest pressure, or become a draining sore without the proper positioning and cleansing.
I've seen the results of families, exhausted and frustrated.
Try to be as kind to yourself, as you would be to someone else.
Because, home may just not be the best place, at least for now, for them to be.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
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