I am looking for answers/resources/suggestions/hints/etc. In several areas including: how to make home handicap accessible, basic home care training or classes, caregiver support groups, assistance in figuring out what Medicare or kaiser do/do not cover, how to manage feeling overwhelmed/stressed/frustrated, juggling the roles of caregiver and adult child of caregivee, free and low cost resources. Any information and/or tips are appreciated. Thank you so much
This is a great support group. Go up to top bar, elder care, find handicap products. Try your county council on aging, they can tell what services are available, free or low cost. Google your county and state, they all have aging help. Read everything you can about your parents conditions. The more knowledge you have the better. You tube taught me how to get parent up after fall, how to transfer from bed to wheelchair, about dying, etc. make sure they are professionals, or or nurses.
When you are frustrated or need to rant, come here. We hear you, and understand. The advice and emotional support you will get here is superb, none better. Lastly, always remember why you do it, love, let it shine through. Love and humor will get you through some horrible dark days. Got to run, Dad's up
If there are other sibs, I'd encourage getting their involvement early on. I think some of the sibling issues that arise come from those of us who just do what is needed' from day one and then are ready to crash months or years later. By that time, we have been viewed as the problem solvers and sibs don't know why we seek their help later.
Try local hospital and United Way websites for care giver support groups. They are also offered at many houses of worship and assisted living facilities. If there is a specific diagnosis for your folks, organizations dealing with that diagnosis may have information on their national website.
Start a notebook and keep track of info you acquire. You may not need it now but will later! Slow and steady gets more done than panic (even though you may feel quite panicky at times). We are here for you.
We need to know more specifics about you too - how old are you, are you near them, in their house, in your house, what?
Like someone said above, get the legal docs take care of first. First first!
When I took my mom in, we went and bought a transfer wheelchair, a swivel seat for the car, a fancy handle to use in the car to help her get in & out. We ended up not using any of that for very long. If I had known, I would have waited on the PT assessment to prescribe that stuff and have insurance pay for it!
The changes to the house will be dictated by what kind of issues are going to come at you because of your parents' diagnoses. It is possible to spend a small kingdom's fortune on devices, doodads, tools, and the latest aging gadget, but if it's the wrong thing at the wrong time it's money wasted.
You're going to need coverage for the night hours - at some point - and some of the day hours. Nobody - not even Florence Nightingale - can do it around the clock every single day.
More details and we can help you much, much more effectively.
Incontinent is my issue. Falling is every senior issue. I have a portable comode next to her bed with the one arm down. It is close to her bedroom door. She can close it for privacy. Hanging is all her incontinent supplies, baby wipes, etc.
No throw rugs. Socks with anti-slip are good. Her bedroom is in the back. I put the
55-inch tv in her room with a recliner. She has a guest chair and it makes us gravitate more to her bedroom so she is not alone. Low hearing, I got her a telephone (free in Indiana) that has teletype of the conversation). Extra large shower chair that is half in and out. Those stools are a joke. The lower they have to bend, the harder to get them up. I bought a transfer wheelchair because the standard is too large for small corridors. Your state holds the answer for many of your resource questions. Good luck.