Planning Elder Care in Advance Reduces Frustration

Your mom and dad are healthy and pretty energetic for their age. It’s not time to talk about elder care needs. That’s a common misconception. Here are situations where families needed to talk about senior care plans in advance.

Caregiver in Hawthorne NJ: Planning Elder Care

Cancer Strikes

Rob was healthy. He rarely drank, didn’t smoke, went to the gym daily, he ate a balanced diet. During the winter, he developed a cough that wouldn’t go away. His doctor said it sounded like a chest cold and just to watch it and get rest. When a month passed and the cough was worse, he returned. They ran tests and found he had throat cancer.

Further testing revealed cancer had spread to other organs. His family was blindsided. He was healthy until that diagnosis. Chemo and radiation were ordered along with a surgery. He couldn’t live alone. He needed a caregiver to help him get to and from appointments and help him with meals, cleaning, and personal care.

Strokes Hit With No Warning

Linda was about to retire. She was slightly overweight, but doctors said her blood pressure and cholesterol levels were fine. She woke up with a headache and opted to take an Advil since migraines were common for her. While in the shower, she collapsed. She had a stroke.

At the hospital, doctors told her family that she would need weeks of rehab in a nursing home. When she got home, she’d still likely be using a wheelchair or a walker if she was lucky. Her family had to get her house equipped with wheelchair ramps and move the bedroom to the first floor. They also had to get a caregiver to help with personal care, meals, and transportation.

Arrangements Are Harder to Make When Rushed

When you plan elder care needs in advance, you avoid having to research in a rush. The trips to the hospital and other facilities will leave you feeling stressed and exhausted.

If you talk about things beforehand, you’ll learn what care your mom or dad would want you providing and what they’d prefer from a professional caregiver. You’ll know what characteristics they want from a caregiver. You’ll also have a list of people to call all planned out.

Ask your parents to be open and honest. It’s hard to talk about worst case scenarios, but it’s important. Discuss the ways that elder care services can help them age at home independently. Talk about what they’d want if they became ill. When you know, start making calls to get pricing and services available in your area.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring a Caregiver in Hawthorne, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC.  In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today at (973) 427-3553.