A Life Changing Event | How Home Care Helped Me
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of aging is a sudden event or unplanned progression of an existing illness. For example, a nasty fall or a stroke can rearrange your entire routine. This tends to place added anxiety and stress on your already busy life, often placing many families in panic mode. If your life should instantly change it is best to take a deep breath, weigh your options and attempt to take it a day at a time. Many times what seems insurmountable actually works out.
How it Started
One warm spring Sunday morning in May I awoke with a very odd feeling. My coordination and speech was off. I quickly called for help and took an Aspirin. Fearing I was having a stroke my children took me immediately to the hospital. Unfortunately, my fear was reality, and now, came my larger concerns. Was I going to be disabled? Was I going to be able to live alone? Who was going to check in on my aging parents? How long was I going to be hospitalized? Would I have to go to rehab? I was working full time and spending nights with my parents and suddenly my life turned upside down. Perhaps, I had too much on my plate. I truly knew better. Running a private duty nursing agency, I had seen this repeatedly. Far too often the caregiver over extends themselves caring for an aging family member and becomes ill themselves. I now needed to focus on the item I had been neglecting, taking care of myself. After a five day hospital stay I was cleared for discharge and chose to go home, electing to do rehabilitation as an outpatient instead of going to a facility. And of course, I was praying that I wouldn’t have another stroke, which is always the greatest concern.
Make Sure You Know Your Options
Should something like this incident occur in your family, in-home rehab and outpatient rehab is most always an option you can choose. Like me you can arrange for a home health assistant to help you in the comfort of your own environment. Receiving care in the home helps reduce your exposure to infectious diseases that tend to be much more common in a facility. Since the private duty nurse focuses exclusively on you, the caregiver develops a detailed and personal understanding of each person’s needs and is more easily able to notice changes which may need to be communicated with family and/or physician. If in-home rehab is not available or stops after a short period, arrangements can be made for the caregiver to drive or assist your loved one to outpatient rehabilitation.
Benefits of Private Duty Nursing
Having in-home private care enables you to start getting your life back to normal. A private duty caregiver is able to assist with all activities of daily living. They can assist with shopping, doctor appointments, hygiene, medication reminders, meal prep and planning, dressing, bathing, ambulation, light housekeeping and laundry. The goal of having a private duty caregiver is to help you remain as independent and self-confident as possible.
Home nursing care helped me recover after the stroke I suffered at 67 years old, and approximately one year later I was back to work fulltime. I realize that this isn’t always the case but if you take the time to weigh your options, and devise a practical plan, your life may begin to look a bit brighter especially with added private duty care.