How much must a son/daughter sacrifice when giving care to their elderly parent? Where is the line drawn? When is it okay to say....enough is enough? Is caregiving a "right of passage" that we all must endure? What happen's when it adversely affects us? Is it okay and proper to actually quit a job to enter a state of servitude to your parent? Is it okay to put your life and health at risk for your parent? Is it expected for you to literally put your own life on hold while you enter into a 24/7 guardianship......a constant companionship. When is okay to say....NO? Is it mean to put your parent into a "home"? Does this put us all into a spiraling guilt trip? As I have said before, I do not wish this caregiving onto my worst enemy. To be in literal servitude and to see the daily decline of my mother is torture enough for me. This whole thing of getting old is devastation in every sense of the word. Again, when is enough.....enough? Caring for an elderly parent can wreck a life.....mentally, physically and financially. The devastating affects.....could last years after your parent is gone. When is enough....enough?
I'm sitting here after the last 10 years dealing with my mom's ALZ a physical wreck. My health and sanity have suffered so much that I wonder if I'll ever get over it.
Do I personally believe that people should just give and give and give and give for anyone, until they're reduced to a husk? Hell no.
If you don't take care of yourself, if you don't find some way to find ME time, you won't be taking care of anybody for long. And your charge may well outlive YOU. No thanks.
Grab some freaking life for yourself, and piss on the guilt. It's not a luxury to do that, in my opinion, it's a damn NECESSITY.