Hello,
I live with my parents, who have been caregiving my elderly grandfather for 3 years. The difference in them reminds me of photos you see of the presidents before they enter and after they leave office; that is to say, they look drawn, tired, stressed, and grey.
My dad had a heart attack two years ago, and they both drink in the evenings to deal with the stress of caring for my grandfather full time, in addition to their jobs. My aunts and uncles don't even call, let alone help them shoulder this burden. My grandfather, though I love him, is so selfish and doesn't seem to care or comprehend that he is ruining their lives... And that's truly what's happening.
My grandfather has bedsores that bleed all over the carpet. He is incontinent, and can't do anything for himself. They have to dress, feed, shower, transport, and entertain them. My mom goes to a caregiver group, and my grandpa has many different doctors and specialists he sees for all his diagnoses. He takes 20 pills a day. And yet, he is in denial that a home would be the best option for everyone. It's like he doesn't care that he could kill my parents with this burden. It's so wrong!! I feel helpless because there's nothing I can do. I try to support my parents emotionally, but there is real anger building. My dad had his heart attack (and his doctor tells him this stress will kill him), and my mom is depressed, anxious, and I worry about the consequences on her health.
Sometimes I fantasize about calling elder services to have my grandpa forcibly removed. I feel guilty for wishing he would pass quickly, but just last month he was saying he wants to live to be 100: 12 more YEARS of this. My parents would surely die from the stress first. I'm so angry at my aunts and uncles for not helping my mom. I'm angry at my grandfather for being so selfish!!
My parents have done everything right, and they're not getting the support they need. A doctor needs to tell them and my grandpa that he needs to be in a home, now. He requires skilled nursing due to his bad condition. My mom says that she's trying to get everything in line to have him put in, but I don't know if it's just talk or if he will really be moved. I just want them to be happy and healthy, and I know that they're trying to do the right thing but it's going to kill them. It seems so wrong to have such a life foisted upon the best, most decent people in this world. And yes, I know it could be worse... It always could, you know? But that doesn't make me feel better on their behalf.
As for me, I have a full time job and I see a counselor every week. I'm mostly fine, but the stress on our home and family is very real. I'm not sure what I was hoping to accomplish with this post; maybe I just needed to rant, so thank you for that. It's really made me think about what will happen to my parents and even me when I get old. I will not put myself in the position my parents are. Moreover, I may not have kids, so what will happen to me?! I only pray that I will die quickly before my health degrades to the point of becoming dependent.
All of you caregivers out there are truly angels.
My parents have made the decision to move him. They told me it takes time, and he has an appointment tomorrow to have his mental state assessed. I guess there are hoops through which to jump because of the VA's involvement. Tonight was another rough night. My parents are breaking down quickly. The past few months have seen them really nosedive. My grandpa fell on Friday night and was fine, but the fire dept had to lift him, of course.
My mom cried most of the day and my dad went to bed early without dinner. I tried to help the situation as I could but they're both just so done. I can only hope that the transition goes quickly, getting him in somewhere. They have a local place in mind, but I think there's a waiting list. It's just so sad in this house. Their stress is tangible. I hope that they will both get counseling, and I will be glad to watch the animals and house for them so they can leave immediately for a week or whatever they need when they can.
I know that there is a lot of information about caregivers' burnout when you know where to look, but wow do I wish there were more public awareness about it. And support. This whole situation has really opened my eyes and I am going to find a way to honor it.
I guess I just want to say anything I can possibly say to help your parents see that it is totally appropriate and not unkind or unloving for them stop trying to do the impossible, which is to provide full time care 24x7 to an incontinent, immobile, 280 lb adult on his unreasonable terms all by themselves.
My grandpa is about 280 lbs. Basically dead weight...he's fallen a few times and has demanded that my mom and I pick him up, even refusing to let me bring in the neighbor! Of course, I called 911 and they've had to have many EMTs get him up. I'm sure this is indicative of decreased cognition as well.
What's so frustrating is that he has seen so many geriatric doctors, wound specialists, hospital physicians, surgeons, cardiologists, etc and none of them are forcing the issue. They have kept him in the hospital for a few days, attempted surgeries for the pressure sores, prescribed antibiotics and special cushions and sleeping accommodations, and physical and occupational therapists, etc. In the end, they expect him to stand regularly (doesn't happen) and my parents to treat the sores at home. They're not bad right now, but his skin is permanently discolored. When they're bad, they're super deep and bloody. He says they cause no pain and seems to have no comprehension of how bad they are.
We have tried in home nursing. It comes down to him not wanting anyone but my family to help him. What's strange is that my mom says he has dementia as well, but he seems relatively lucid most of the time to me. Maybe a bit eccentric, but I thought that was because he's shut himself off from social interaction for so long. I didn't consider that he might not realize what he's doing because of the dementia. Thank you for that.
My mom is actually a forum member; that's how I knew to come here! I did send the link to my dad. He saw his doctor today who again warned him that he needs to deal with this situation before the stress kills him.
I know there are people who feel like nursing facilities are for people whose families don't love them, and expect that is they love and care enough they can keep them at home til the end. But sometimes this does not work out and they have to learn the hard way that this assumption is wrong, and hoepfully others can help them get over the false guilt.
With all the doctors, there should be ONE who can look at the big picture and say what needs to be said. You don't say whether he is very large as in 20-250 lbs or 300 lbs plus, and whether you have lift equipment (that he probably does not want to use...) I would bet that he is diabetic for many years, with not very good control, and having progressive loss of reasoning power over time. Maybe the primary doc, maybe a geriatrician. You might need to prime them with what you have told us, so that GF and your parents don't showtime their way through it, pretending things are manageable, and the doc does not even get him up out of the chair to look at his bottom. You can reassure GF that you love him and will visit him and do anything to ease the worries about moving and being cared for by other than family - I'll assume that's why no home health nursing was mentioned - but you can't let him run the show. He is not capable now of making good decisions, whether he used to be or not; he does not understand why he should do anything difficult or uncomfortable that he does not feel like doing at any given moment. Let your parents get on here too maybe; it might help them see things in a different light.
Hi babalou, oh that makes sense. Luckily the VA will subsidize certain ALs. This incontinent bowel was the first instance of that, but he has been urinating himself for months-years now. He (very reluctantly) goes to an adult daycare one morning a week. He was going three days/week but he hated it and refused to keep going. My mom is working with a social worker now to see what our options are.
Go to Medicare.gov and find nearbt nursing homes. Tour them. Find out what grandpas assets are and if he qualifies for Aid and Attendence. Click on the paying for care bar at the top for lots of information. Contact your local area agency on aging to find out what local resources exist, like adult day care.
As for your Grandfather not wanting to move to a continuing care facility, please remember his age... that generation thinks nursing homes are dark, dank, with unsmiling faces, horrible places... no wonder he never considers wanting to move. Too bad that generation refuses to even visit the places that are available... even my parents refuse to go there and the one we have in my area is like living in a resort, but my parents won't budge... [sigh].... I might move there myself :)
Maybe you could help by doing some research and legwork for them. Your folks are just in reactive mode, immersed in the day to day. There's a saying "when you're up to your butt in alligators, it's hard to remember the objective is to drain the swamp."
THANK YOU!
Yes, that is exactly what my mom says. I know she's grateful for me to see what's happening, because our family makes her feel insane with their lack of understanding. I mean, I get it; if I didn't witness it all firsthand, I wouldn't get it either. This pressure is intense though. Yes, do talk with your son. We can sense when our parents are going through something. Sometimes we will avoid talking about it because it's painful for us to see you struggling.
No one on this forum will ever blame you for blowing your top from time to time. If it helps, do it often!
By the way, my DIL - son's wife - supported her mother through taking care of her grandmother, who had Alzheimer's Disease, to the very end at home. There is no substitute for having been there and done it, to help you understand the pressures. It's made the two of them extremely understanding, but I think you're probably right about the worry - my son had been calling home a good deal more than usual, lately.
I moved back with my parents after my dad's heart attack, to help them with my grandpa. It allowed me to finish my degree, so I'm extremely grateful for that. My job is relatively new, and I'm planning to move out by the end of the year, but it's tough because I feel like they need me, but you're right. It is keeping me in a child role.
The bedsores are under control, for now, but there are episodes every several weeks where they will weep and bleed. My grandpa has been to wound specialists regularly, and they've tried all kinds of treatments. They even sent a nurse to the house for awhile to help my mom, but the burden of cleaning them daily is hers. The problem is that he sits 98% of his day; he even sleeps sitting most nights. We just brought in a hospital bed, but he hasn't slept in a bed in 25 years so it's painful for him to lay down. It's a perpetual cycle :( because it's hard for him to stand/do anything but sit, and the sitting causes pressure sores. My mom talked to the VA and they won't admit anyone with bedsores. I feel so badly for her.
My grandpa moved in after my grandma passed away. My mom had been staying with him every month, and realized he couldn't live alone. In her recent words, she "had no idea it would be like this." They've done a great job, but there has to be a time to decide to live for yourself, which is kind of why this is all ironic... because I'm living there! haha! I've justified it because I really want to pay my student loans off before I move out again, and because I know my parents like having me there, but again... there comes a time to decide to live!
I love love love my job, and plan to be here for a long time. Forever, if the compensation will be enough. My 401k starts in November, so that's good. I see how important it is to maintain health. I worry about moving out on my current income, but hopefully I will get a raise by the end of the year and my plan will work out.
Anyway, thank you so much for your time and words. Every few months I get worked up like that after discussing the status quo with my parents, but it's not like it's all bad. It will all work out, it always does.
I hope that all of you will have strength and endurance and health!
As far as you go, I would get out, now. And then, always plan for your retirement. Work at a job a long time and earn the benefits. Plan where you want to go and then, move to assisted living and down size. But, it is all about the money. You have plenty of time.
Well, now. Your grandfather is 88, and you say your parents are both working. So what, exactly, are your grandfather's care needs? What led to his moving in to live with the family? - was he widowed, or something like that?
At first glance, given the circumstances of your father's heart attack (I hope he has made a full recovery and continues to improve in health), it sounds as if your parents were led somehow to underestimate how much work, experience, expertise and - bluntly - cash would be required to care for an elderly man in poor health, and perhaps have never quite got the show running smoothly? It's always a steep learning curve, no matter how well-prepared one fondly imagines oneself to be, but if things get out of hand then the consequences can be disastrous - I think you're right to be very concerned about your parents' wellbeing.
You'll have to forgive me for another aside, but your vehement argument for your grandfather's needing to be in a home, and your indignation about his selfishness, would carry a little more weight if you weren't 31 years old, fully employed, and living under your parents' roof. I also agree with Windy that you might be much less stressed out, and therefore find it easier to support your parents effectively, if you were able to move out to your own place and approach the situation as an objective adult rather than a child of the household.
But that is a wry observation and does not take anything away from the serious point that, for your parents' wellbeing, something does indeed need to change. And as a first step, I'd suggest a complete break of a month to six weeks to combine recuperation for them and rehabilitation for your father. If you can find a good ALF, nursing home or rehab unit that offers respite care, it would give your parents an opportunity to revise their options when they're not so exhausted they can't think straight; and it would give the professionals a chance to work on your grandfather's skin integrity, continence care and other chronic problems and get him into better shape.
You can sell the package to all three of them as a pit stop, with no permanent commitments to anything on the part of any of them. Your grandfather will see the benefits of living in a protected environment with comprehensive facilities and activities programmes; your parents will be able to get a decent night's sleep; and whatever is decided in the end at least there will be a positive strategy to it, and they can all make a fresh start.
Best of luck, do come back and let us know how you're doing. And, by the way, I didn't at all mean to suggest that your parents wouldn't want you living with them! - I'm sure they are very glad of your company and support.