When a loved one suffers from an illness or is simply getting older, it can be difficult for family caregivers to help their loved ones. In some cases, there may come a time when a person needs more assistance as a family caregiver. When this happens, it may be time for you to seek outside help.
1) You need someone else to watch over your loved one so you can get out of the house
The first reason you may need help is that it’s often difficult to do everyday things when you are constantly with your loved one. If they don’t feel like going outside, there’s little hope of coaxing them out the door if you can’t leave them behind for an hour or two.
This is where caregivers come in handy; having someone else watch over your loved one will free up some time for you to get out of the house and go somewhere that doesn’t involve watching over your loved one. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources available where you can ask for help in filling the gap in your caregiver duties. If you need a reliever or a respite care provider, you can click here to find people nearby or within your neighborhood. It’s okay to ask for help every now and then, and it can be done online, which is convenient. As a caregiver, you need to take care of yourself too. You deserve to relax and unwind a bit, and caregiver support services are there to take care of both your rest and relaxation needs and your loved one’s needs.
2) Your loved one needs additional physical therapy sessions
Paying a home health care aide to come to your loved one’s house can be expensive. You have to consider what the hourly fee is plus the cost of gas, wear and tear on your car, and your own dog-tiredness from being on call 24/7 as both primary caregiver AND a physical therapist.
This is where using a nearby nursing home or assisted living facility as a satellite clinic for your family member will pay off big time. Your loved one gets all the physical therapy they need from an appropriate professional, you get some much-needed breaks from being a caregiver, and you also get free parking done away with too!
If your family member still has days when they feel good enough that going to the clinic doesn’t sound too terrible, then go for it! You can keep their spirits up by talking about visiting faraway places or how amazing the food is in the nursing home cafeteria. Just make sure you don’t talk about visiting hours being over at 5 PM sharp!
3) Your loved one needs to visit a specialist but you feel he/she won’t be able to handle it
Yes, this may be true. But sometimes we need to remind our family members that they are not better than other people just because they have a disability and that nothing should stop them from trying new things – even if there’s a chance of failure. For instance, many family caregivers worry about their loved ones in wheelchairs maybe not being able to sit through an entire play. But if they simply tell their loved one that everyone struggles with something and that the show isn’t perfect (it never is), then they’ll come out of it learning something new about themselves and other people.
Whatever you do, don’t convince your loved one that he/she can’t handle a certain situation because what’s going to happen is either 1) your loved one will refuse to try anything else out or 2) your family member will have a meltdown when he/she does attempt something new and fail at it – possibly in front of other people too! By using a nursing home as a satellite clinic for your family member, you could schedule those visits from specialists unbeknownst to your loved one so he/she doesn’t feel overwhelmed. If this is not possible, then talk it out with the doctor and see if some light medication could ease the situation before it happens – or even afterward.
Being a caregiver is not easy and it’s okay to ask for help even if you feel like you can’t afford to lose your independence. You must also keep in mind that taking care of yourself too means that you need some time off before you completely lose it. The three reasons outlined above show clearly that asking for help is never a bad thing as long as it doesn’t come at the cost of neglecting your loved one.