We need a companion, home helper or caregiver for our 70plus mom and dad who live alone to avoid emergencies, to allow us to function and take care of our bodies too in the same way we care for our parents, to give more quality time to our aging parents and to provide the necessary care (non-medical) such as exercises, walking,massage,assistance in daily living (bathing, feeding, others).
Having an Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease is very challenging. We want to avoid the following when caring for seniors with degenerative disease:
Falls
Many medications have side effects such as dizziness, headaches, feeling tired, contipation and more. When the legs are weak due to health issues and exacerbated by lack of exercise and over medication, fall can happen when there is no assisted device such as cane or rollator, living alone and lack of energy from the body (lack of iron, mental health issues, digestive health issues, lack of sleep, others).
Emergency
Sometimes older adults are addicted to pain killers or other medications when not supervised and can result to emergencies for them and the people around them. Living alone can also exacerbate the issue.
Lack of assistance in daily living leading to more issues
Just having a companion can mean a lot to a senior who lives alone. They need constant interaction and be read to and have someone to walk or exercise or drive around town. Bathing and dressing will be more difficult based on the health condition. Many times during the night, seniors get up or need to be changed (diaper changed) and have to be calmed due to anxiety issues (major issue). Caregivers know that constipation can lead to many more health issues (mental,physical and aggrevation of current health issues). They constantly monitor whether the client is breathing properly, responding well, has appetite, need to be warmed or has a UTI.
Stories from caregivers
One client was told by his doctor that he has only 6 months to live. His caregiver started him on a healthy diet of greens and healthy protein. He lived for 5 more years. You will hear the caregiver talk to him daily, Do you need anything Henry? Are you cold? Do you need your food now?
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Contact Motherhealth caregivers at 408-854-1883 for holistic caregiving to your homebound bay area seniors. motherhealth@gmail.com
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