I presented Adult Day Health to my mom in terms that I knew would appeal to her. I toured the potential programs in advance & once a program had been chosen, I told her that I knew of a COA type place that needed some volunteers. My mother used to volunteer a lot, so I knew this would appeal to her. The staff was aware of the volunteer plan & went along with it. We toured the place together & talked about the things that she could do to help others. She agreed to go & was initially signed up for 3 days a week. When she tried to back out, I reminded her that she had already promised to volunteer there & they were counting on her help! I also told her if she didn't like it after a couple of weeks that we would look for another opportunity for her. I purchased her favorite board game for the program & dropped it off prior to her start date. Day one she stated it was a "little weird" but it was o.k., before I knew it she was disappointed on the days that she didn't have "work" & we increased it to 5 days a week. Now she is disappointed when "work" is closed on the weekends. I had the benefit of knowing how to appeal to my mother's likes & work in this field, but I am grateful for her program because it brings her joy & a sense of purpose again!

I read your comment Wheat and I cried . I thought "wow" and I thought I had it bad! Well, I left retired 5 years ago from my teaching career to come to Florida to be with my parents. My mother and best friend had alzehemier and my father and her would not talk about it. Mother recently passed away and now I am dealing with a father that is depressed and has cronic pain. They had been married for 62 years and now he is alone and scared. My father,as I was growing up was the "rock of Gilbarter " I always new I could count on him and now he has regressed to child like and is very depressed.
My father is in and out of hospitals because he can not take the pain of his back , legs and now his hip. When he is in the hospital or rehab he is a social butterfly but the moment I take him home "the pain" becomes umbearable. I have never entertain the thought of putting him in a home because he has his own home but I now realize he needs the companion of other elderlys. I am now in the process of looking for an Adult day care center and hope he will be happy again,

Dear wheat, you are a true angel!!! You have made such a sacrafice for your parents. You shall truly be rewarded. May you always be blessed. And your story is NOT boring. Hang in there, and we are with you in mind and spirit always. Nauseated

I have been taking care of my parents for three or more years , with moving into a assisted living facility about a year ago that did not work out. So they have been back home and I have moved into their home to take care of them with my family. My partner decide to get his CNA licnese and has been taking care of them with me . If he wasn't here , I don't know what I would have done. We originally moved from upstate New York which we quit our jobs and left our beautiful newly built home but had to make a decision which , for me, was a no brainer. We had to go and take care of them .So we moved to Florida and ever since have a 100% change in our life. My father is now in final stages of Parkinson's with dementia and mom has nerapathy and heart desease. They need 24/ 7 care and I am also going through many things with my personal life and at my witts end also . I just keep taking deep breaths and saying to myself , " It 's okay". I don't want to keep babbling on but what does one do when we are taking care of both parents . I'm in the process of foreclosure on my home because of my job loss,lost my own health ins because I can't afford, trying to comfort my daughter with MS , taking care of my son which he is Bi pollar and is ADHD, I think you can get my picture,i DON'T THINK i SHOULD GO ON WITH MY BORING STORY . I just wanted to let people know out there that we all have to talk it out and educate ourselves on these deseases. You will be rewarded for it , I do believe and I have to beleive this. Good luck to everyone out there and keep up the good work . We're all in this together.