It is 2:30 in morning and I am still awake - actually I am awake this time every night. You probably think I have a newborn at home. I wish I did because caring for a newborn, to me, is so much easier than caring for an elderly parent. It may be one thing to change a child's diaper, but it becomes something completely different and uncomfortable when the diaper you are changing belongs to your parent. The angry outbursts, stubbornness ,and regressive behaviors are reminiscent of when my children were small. I can hear my father moan my name - I worry, did he fall again? Sometimes, during this confused state, my father will think he is in the bathroom, and I will find that he has soiled his pajama bottoms.
I am exhausted, my sleep has been disrupted since his arrival a little over a year ago. Like caring for a newborn, I worry - I don't like to go to sleep until I know my father is sleeping comfortably. Fortunately for him , I know when he is awake - he is far from quiet. If by chance I am too tired and sleep through his restless noises, my golden retriever, Buster will pace at the foot of my bed, until I wake up. He too worries about his human friend.
My father believes he is not a burden simply because he is independent in tending to most of his personal needs. Being responsible for an elderly parent is a burden - plain and simple. His well-being is in my hands - it is up to me to make sure that the following needs are being met:
• Love and a sense of well-being
• Medical, and that he takes his medication on a regularly basis,
• Nutritional needs, which includes supplementing his diet with protein shakes,
• Social and the need to be with other seniors,
• Personal care needs - bathing, mouth care, toileting,
• Feeling like he is an important member of this family, he goes everywhere we go,
Just once I would like to hear him say that he:
• appreciates everything that I am doing for him,
• loves and respects me,
• feels sorry that he was not there for me when I needed him,
• wants to know how I am feeling (for a change).
My eyelids are feeling very heavy right now and I want to go to sleep. It is now 3:45 in the morning and my father is finally asleep and that is my cue to say goodnight too.
I am exhausted, my sleep has been disrupted since his arrival a little over a year ago. Like caring for a newborn, I worry - I don't like to go to sleep until I know my father is sleeping comfortably. Fortunately for him , I know when he is awake - he is far from quiet. If by chance I am too tired and sleep through his restless noises, my golden retriever, Buster will pace at the foot of my bed, until I wake up. He too worries about his human friend.
My father believes he is not a burden simply because he is independent in tending to most of his personal needs. Being responsible for an elderly parent is a burden - plain and simple. His well-being is in my hands - it is up to me to make sure that the following needs are being met:
• Love and a sense of well-being
• Medical, and that he takes his medication on a regularly basis,
• Nutritional needs, which includes supplementing his diet with protein shakes,
• Social and the need to be with other seniors,
• Personal care needs - bathing, mouth care, toileting,
• Feeling like he is an important member of this family, he goes everywhere we go,
Just once I would like to hear him say that he:
• appreciates everything that I am doing for him,
• loves and respects me,
• feels sorry that he was not there for me when I needed him,
• wants to know how I am feeling (for a change).
My eyelids are feeling very heavy right now and I want to go to sleep. It is now 3:45 in the morning and my father is finally asleep and that is my cue to say goodnight too.
