Stories from Caregivers: Christie from NEVADA
NV
Christie
FROM NEVADA
I have learned caregiving through my husband when he was in an accident and confined to a wheelchair,it was 1993. It was tough to adjust caring my husband plus my small 3 boys. it was "family counseling " that helped my boys and myself and gave us the way to adjust to the situation. Within 8 years of struggles my husband died in 2001. Five years after, my grandmother of 95 yrs old needed care and I was the only one available who can take care of her. She has Alzheimer's and have seen how Alzheimer's stages progresses till she is unable to feed herself. Four years later, she reached the end stage of Alzheimer's. She became bedridden for another 1 and 1/2 yrs and I solely took care of her at my home with the help of hospice care. She died in 2014 peacefully at 101 yrs old. Now my parents required assistance. My father has the worst asthma and COPD which makes him in and out of the hospital at 88yrs old while my mother now has dementia with hypertension, knee problems and is using walker. Both of my parents are now housebound and fully require help with their daily activities, Drs appt, cooking, medication assistants.and so on. I'm so glad that going through experience of caring from my husband and my grandmother, I now am able to manage my stress, my time management, especially while taking care of myself ( going out at night to relax and relief my stress for few hours with friends). I was able to organized much better their needs after all. I have learned a lot how to reach out for sources to help me get what they need for their care. In a few more years, I know it will come the worst situation specially my dad's chronic illnesses. He will need oxygen, wheelchair and not able to feed himself because of his arthritis and unable to see which his one eye already blind..adding that my mother's dementia will end up to worst Alzheimer disease that will end to stages level of care. I educate myself on how to care for my loved ones, I now am ready and able to face the heavy responsibilities to care for my parents. I'm so appreciative that the internet,websites, especially AARP, gives so much information on how to reach out for help if needed. I retired early, my income is so limited that I'm still looking for ways on how can a family caregiver be compensated somehow in order to just cover my own needs and lost of my time to work. I moved back to Hawaii to care for them and volunteered with AARP Advocates to pass the law that every family caregiver should be given an education on caring prior to love ones discharge from hospital. I moved back Vegas with my parents to be close to my children. I admire family caregiver out there because I know how it feels to be a caregiver.
