Before I took full advantage of remote work and moved to a tropical destination to live, I spent 3 full years caring for my ailing parents.
They needed 24-hour home care. Their insurance was from decades ago, and the amount of coverage per their plan was insufficient. I took it upon myself to sell my business and care for them.
They were overjoyed to have me caring for them, but upset that I had to sacrifice my goals for that purpose. They insisted that I leave them to follow my dream, and there was no way I could allow myself to do that. I know what you are facing. There are tough choices ahead, but do not worry.
With the largest generation of retirees reaching the age more often requiring home care, the sector has advanced significantly in the last decade, and you have options that will fit better. Not only will you have cost options, but care and service options of greater quality, which is most important.
I had to fumble through and study what I needed to know to provide merely satisfactory care. You will have professionals with excellent training, experience, corporate backing, and the best equipment possible. There are some great choices for in-home care Sydney.
Whether you live near or far from St. Vincent’s, Royal Prince Alfred, or Royal North Shore hospitals, the pros will come to you.
Click that link, and schedule a needs assessment to tailor a self-managed home care package. This means you have control over what services are provided and prevent cost overruns. Cost is important,t but the greatest concern is the quality of care for and quality of life of your parents.
I will be honest with you, my folks did not receive the best care from me. I did the best I could in the most loving way possible, but I was lacking so much knowledge and skill sets. Your parents will not experience this when you clearly define the care package.
You will be able to make your time with them more special because the tough and often sensitive tasks are already done on a regular basis. They will not need to feel embarrassed to ask you for personal care that may be unsanitary or immodest.
Bathing my parents and helping them with restroom needs was, at times, challenging for me and them. Doing laundry is easy, and dressing them is no real chore, but they are time-consuming tasks that cannot be ignored.
Similarly, I love to cook, and cooking for them was fun, but you may not have the freedom of schedule I made in my life. I made sure they maintained an excellent diet of food prepared with love and attention.
Since the great COVID debacle, we can order nearly anything to be delivered, but nothing beats a home-cooked meal, especially one shared with them.
If my schedule was not completely open to them, I am unsure how they would have gotten to all the doctors’ or therapy appointments. There was rarely a day when two or all three of us were not driving to a scheduled visit with a specialist or testing of some type.
Sitting in traffic is a major time consumer and you know how doctors offices are. We are scheduled for 9:15 and cannot be a moment late, but the doctor shows up at 11am.
These are in no order of importance, but their medicine schedule was a priority as well. Which one is taken before, during, or after a meal? Which one is before bed? I made my own spreadsheet to make sense of it and stay on point. The nurses in your plan will be on top of each one and see that they are given exactly on time.
My mother needed injections, and I was not qualified for those, let alone my comfort level. We needed to go to a doctor’s office for that. There is another trip in traffic and more waiting room time with three-year-old expired magazines.
Their physical therapy was hard for me. Have you ever been in an accident or had a work injury? How much did you loathe the physiotherapist? All of that pain-boundary pushing to stretch tight ligaments or retrain muscles can hurt more than the initial injury itself. Seeing my parents wince in pain was difficult to take emotionally.
Leave those difficult tasks to the professionals. Leave the stressful driving to them as well. You get to spend quality time with your folks on a weekend drive to the beach where they met or into the countryside for a cruise to put them at ease and enjoy life.
They need your companionship. Feeling alone is never a good thing. When we have an illness, our minds can race. We all come to the end one day, and on the way to it, we need our family and the love that we share.
I cannot overstate this. When making your self-managed home care plan, keep that at the forefront of your mind. Keep the best of times for yourself.
As I was living with them to be there at a moment’s notice when they needed me, shopping for groceries was easy. Maybe you can add their needs to your cart as you shop for your home, but the home care team can do this task as well.
I would recommend using their professional accounting office services. Tracking all the billing and payments is a job of its own, and it consumed significant time because I had to learn who to call to get an answer.
Your team will be connected and know every specialist or testing facility and the right number to dial or text for immediate responses with accuracy.
After saying all of that, I want you to focus on loving them. Make your last memories of them sweet and pleasant. Do your part. Be there for them in a positive, loving mindset. You will appreciate it once they have moved on from this world.
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