Martha was never planning on taking care of her elderly father. Not once in all her thoughts and plans about the future did she ever consider becoming a caregiver to him. Yet that’s precisely what she became, and the more she helped him, the more he called on her for help with other tasks. Home Care might be something she should consider.
It was wearing her down. She was worn thin, running on empty, and completely broken. She needed help but there was no one available. Well, there was a brother, but he would never return her calls. There was an uncle, but he lived too far away. There was her spouse, but he kept telling Martha she couldn’t continue burning the candle at both ends.
She was finding her life slipping away.
There were also gaps in the care she could provide to her father. She had her career and other responsibilities. She did the best she could, but he was alone most of the days.
It was tough enough for Martha to stop by in the morning to help him get ready for the day and then swing by in the evening on her way home. She was having to do his grocery shopping (thank goodness for the ordering services grocery stores were now offering), the laundry, and helping him prepare meals.
But as this went on, it seemed he was having a tougher and tougher time with other basic needs. Soon, she knew, he would need help with the most intimate details, like going to the bathroom or taking a shower.
That wasn’t something she was ready to handle. So, she needed to find a different solution, and some way to help him during the times she couldn’t be there.
Home care was the answer.
A coworker mentioned home care. At first, she didn’t think much about that idea, mostly because she didn’t know anything about it. She heard about home care but had the wrong idea of what it was, the cost, the requirements, and so on.
When she looked into it more closely and contacted a local agency, she came to understand the benefits.
She talked it over with her father and they agreed this would be the best thing for both of them. It helped to fill in the gaps of care Martha couldn’t offer and it allowed her father to feel more comfortable and confident throughout the day. It was a blessing in every possible way.