Commented on a discussion 2/5/2009 at 12:23 am
I have been caring for my mother every weekend since 1989, when my dad died. I was a single mom raising 3 boys, working 2 jobs to make ends meet. My mother has had 3 back surgeries and 2 strokes dur
...Read MoreI have been caring for my mother every weekend since 1989, when my dad died. I was a single mom raising 3 boys, working 2 jobs to make ends meet. My mother has had 3 back surgeries and 2 strokes during the 20 years that I've taken up as caregiver. I was an only child. My mother was from a large extended family who is still offering a lot of free advice, but no actual help. Most recently, my mother has been in assisted living, and she agreed to give me POA, and I now live in her house. She developed health problems, and had falls, so she had to go to full nursing care for a few weeks. I went to a Care Conference today, and was told that now she needs 24-hour supervision. I want to put her in an Adult Family Home, but she adamantly opposes this. She wants to come back to the house and have a full time caregiver (me). She doesn't want to spend her retirement income, about $3,000 per month. I am a teacher, working at a job I love. I don't have time to rest on weekends, and I don't have time for friends or family. I wanted to retire from teaching next year, and now I'm afraid my mother will insist on all my time. As it is, she calls me every day of any vacation I have. I WANT MY OWN LIFE!!!!