Several weeks ago, a dear family friend of mine suffered a devastating stroke. For a few days, his family members didn’t know if he would survive this event. Thankfully, he did. Now, he is undergoing the slow recovery process in a nursing home. Since his stroke, his family has been amazing. They visit him daily at the nursing facility. They have even decorated his room in an effort to make him feel like he is at home. If your loved one has recently been admitted to a nursing home, don’t despair. You may be able to help your loved one adjust to this living situation better by being supportive. On this blog, you will discover the ways to make your loved one’s transition to a nursing home easier.
A Home Away from Home
4 Tips for Knowing It's Time for an Assisted Living Facility for a Parent
Johnny Rodriguez
Caring for an elderly and often ill parent is an act of love and gratitude for everything they gave up to raise and support you. But there comes a time when their mental and physical health becomes such a burden that it threatens to make their caregiver ill, and the parent should be moved to an assisted living facility or retirement home. There are a few warning signs that can help to identify when the care of a loving son or daughter isn't enough to ensure the safety of an aging parent.
Display of Aggression
Dementia and frustration with their miserable living situation, especially if they are bed-ridden or confined to a wheelchair, can lead to an increase in hostility and anger between parent and child. Although you have their well-being at heart, your parent may begin to view your protective nature as the barricade between them and a normal, healthy life. If they begin to lash out, argue, and fight against your care on a regular basis, this is harmful both to their health and your relationship as a family. Creating some space between you will allow for more loving and enjoyable interactions, and may even improve their mental health.
Increase in Accidents
Accidents for an ill and aging senior can range from falling accidents to serious strokes and heart attacks. Once such incident per year might be expected of an elderly person, but when they begin to fall down in the bathtub every other day, or experience minor strokes once a month, moving mom or dad to an assisted living facility is now a matter of life or death. If you find yourself spending more time with them in the hospital or in a doctor's office than at home, this is a sign that they probably need to be living in a facility that has nurses, doctors, and the appropriate medical equipment on hand.
Severe Dementia and Alzheimer's
The later stages of dementia and Alzheimer's disease can cause an elderly person to forget many important details of their life, including their own name and the identity of their own family members. They may feel unsafe, panicked or scared on a daily basis, and their reactions to their declining memory will be unpredictable as the condition worsens. It is safest to have them housed in a secure facility where counselors and physicians can help them cope, and you can visit at the appropriate moments and continue to cherish them.
Extreme Stress upon the Caregiver
You have work, meetings, school, your children and hobbies that mean just as much to you as your parent. Everyone else's life still goes on as they age, but constantly worrying about your parent's health, a potential accident or their decline in happiness can prevent you from continuing the activities of everyday life that you once enjoyed. When their care is causing you to neglect the rest of your life, and even induce daily headaches, anxiety, and physical body aches due to stress, it's unfair to you. Passing on their care to the staff at a facility is not selfish: you chose to care for your parent for so long, and you also deserve to be happy and healthy.
Reverting to a state of dependency in old age is inevitable, and in the care of their loving families, aging can be a less painful experience. But to avoid causing yourself pain as you care for an elderly parent, you have to willing to watch for signs that say it's time to transition their care to a more capable assisted living facility like Kendal At Lexington. Not only will this better ensure mom or dad's safety and well-being, but it will foster a healthier and happier relationship between you both.
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