If you can afford to hire help don’t hesitate to do so. If you can’t, ask your children to help a day or two, each week. I hired someone to come from 8:00-12:30 on weekday mornings. She makes my husband breakfast and is a friend he can talk with. They sometimes decide to walk the dog, go down the street for a cup of coffee, do a load of laundry, etc. Sometimes she decides to cook a pot roast or bake a cake, sometimes she decides to do a little cleaning. She is fabulous and has made our lives so much better because he’s got a companion and I get a break! Before her, I tried to do everything. I was overwhelmed, and discouraged by my husband’s questions, repetitive stories, worries, and negativity. I ended up hospitalized and was very close to death. That is was what finally taught me that I was doing too much and could not care for him while managing the household chores, maintenance, and family finances. With help we are both much healthier and happier. Good luck.
answer to Sandoa: Hi, welcome to the group! you didnt mention your age or your husband's age, except that he " has multiple health issues, cognitive decline / dementia"
One thing I learned quickly on this forum, is that LO's with such issues, will get worse over time, and we have to plan for that. We may be surviving NOW, but have to think of a plan when things get worse.
you stated : "No complaints. This is caregiver reality at a bare minimum. Most have it worse. " Well, true, many do have it worse and we hear those stories here on the forum. And for those who have it bad, I truly feel for them. However, are you sure that you have "no complaints"? I will be honest here, but your statement sounds like that of someone who is going to martyr themselves, and that is how I used to be and am trying to get out of.
Everyone is different . What one person can handle another person may not be able to handle. Dont compare yourself to others and try to hold yourself up to what others can handle. That's not a good approach. If you are not handling things well, then remember, things likely will get tougher. You will need something to change, and some other solutions. Dont risk getting burned out badly... maybe I'm wrong in my impresssions. Do clarify and update us.
I'm new here but not new to caregiving. Husband has multiple health issues, cognitive decline / dementia. I still work full time, fortunately from home.
My care plan is chores, food, more chores, run back and forth from the work desk to him calling for help remember the dadburn remote and then running back out there 5 min later because he fell asleep and accidentally cranked the volume to the top.
At night I make sure the doors are still locked, the fridge and freezer door are actually closed, and all the faucets/showers are off.
My care plan is doing what I have to do to make sure I don't forget to order his meds on time, and praising the baby Jesus for Kroger grocery delivery.
Somewhere in there I try to get my own laundry done and hair washed. If I get 6 hrs sleep at one time it feels like I went to a spa.
No complaints. This is caregiver reality at a bare minimum. Most have it worse. There is no time anywhere for a plan.
Hi, welcome to the group! you didnt mention your age or your husband's age, except that he " has multiple health issues, cognitive decline / dementia"
One thing I learned quickly on this forum, is that LO's with such issues, will get worse over time, and we have to plan for that. We may be surviving NOW, but have to think of a plan when things get worse.
you stated : "No complaints. This is caregiver reality at a bare minimum. Most have it worse. " Well, true, many do have it worse and we hear those stories here on the forum. And for those who have it bad, I truly feel for them. However, are you sure that you have "no complaints"? I will be honest here, but your statement sounds like that of someone who is going to martyr themselves, and that is how I used to be and am trying to get out of.
Everyone is different . What one person can handle another person may not be able to handle. Dont compare yourself to others and try to hold yourself up to what others can handle. That's not a good approach. If you are not handling things well, then remember, things likely will get tougher. You will need something to change, and some other solutions. Dont risk getting burned out badly... maybe I'm wrong in my impresssions. Do clarify and update us.
What kind of student are you? If you're a nursing student, you will learn about care plans and patient discharge plans in school and through your clinical experience with your schooling.
Read my comments on this thread. I explain care plans.
Caregivers in paid aides? For those of us who did caring forva loved one, I doubt if any of us had time for a care plan. These are usually done by RNs in hospital and facility settings. An employer may set up one for an aide maybe even the agency an aide may work for.
It would probably consist of when meals were given. When meds were given. When bathed and dressed. Maybe how the client did overall. There should be something on the internet.
If the care client is coming from a hospital, rehab, or nursing home those facilities send them with a care plan of what needs to be done for them.
We get cases often where it's a family member getting homecare in for a senior who needs some help at home. Most homecare agencies are non-medical so there's no need for a nurse to come out and design a care plan. So an agency supervisor or care coordinator goes out in person to assess the situation and talk with the family (and client when appropriate) about what the client needs are. Then the agency prepares a care plan. I do these all the time. This is how I'm spending this fine Sunday morning. Preparing client care plans.
If there's already a care plan in place from a hospital or care facility, the homecare people reach out to them and discuss that plan and how long it is expected to be carried out.
You mention in your profile you are a student wanting to learn about Care Plans. You can search for sample care Plans and most can relate to home care plans. You would adapt it for the number of people that are going to be caring for the person. The "illness" or "condition" would determine the Care Plan. Someone with Dementia would have a different Care Plan than a person with Breast Cancer or Pressure Sores. And the other thing to consider is what other help is available. Is the person on Hospice, is there 1 or more other caregivers? Care Plans can and should be as individual as the person being cared for.
Please provide more info, like what is your actual question?
- who is being cared for? - how old are they? - what are their cognitive and medical conditions? - where do they live: in their home or yours or elsewhere? - do they have a PoA? - what country/state/county does this person live in?
I hired someone to come from 8:00-12:30 on weekday mornings. She makes my husband breakfast and is a friend he can talk with. They sometimes decide to walk the dog, go down the street for a cup of coffee, do a load of laundry, etc. Sometimes she decides to cook a pot roast or bake a cake, sometimes she decides to do a little cleaning.
She is fabulous and has made our lives so much better because he’s got a companion and I get a break!
Before her, I tried to do everything.
I was overwhelmed, and discouraged by my husband’s questions, repetitive stories, worries, and negativity.
I ended up hospitalized and was very close to death. That is was what finally taught me that I was doing too much and could not care for him while managing the household chores, maintenance, and family finances.
With help we are both much healthier and happier. Good luck.
Hi,
welcome to the group!
you didnt mention your age or your husband's age, except that he " has multiple health issues, cognitive decline / dementia"
One thing I learned quickly on this forum, is that LO's with such issues, will get worse over time, and we have to plan for that. We may be surviving NOW, but have to think of a plan when things get worse.
you stated : "No complaints. This is caregiver reality at a bare minimum. Most have it worse. " Well, true, many do have it worse and we hear those stories here on the forum. And for those who have it bad, I truly feel for them. However, are you sure that you have "no complaints"? I will be honest here, but your statement sounds like that of someone who is going to martyr themselves, and that is how I used to be and am trying to get out of.
Everyone is different . What one person can handle another person may not be able to handle. Dont compare yourself to others and try to hold yourself up to what others can handle. That's not a good approach. If you are not handling things well, then remember, things likely will get tougher. You will need something to change, and some other solutions. Dont risk getting burned out badly...
maybe I'm wrong in my impresssions. Do clarify and update us.
My care plan is chores, food, more chores, run back and forth from the work desk to him calling for help remember the dadburn remote and then running back out there 5 min later because he fell asleep and accidentally cranked the volume to the top.
At night I make sure the doors are still locked, the fridge and freezer door are actually closed, and all the faucets/showers are off.
My care plan is doing what I have to do to make sure I don't forget to order his meds on time, and praising the baby Jesus for Kroger grocery delivery.
Somewhere in there I try to get my own laundry done and hair washed. If I get 6 hrs sleep at one time it feels like I went to a spa.
No complaints. This is caregiver reality at a bare minimum. Most have it worse. There is no time anywhere for a plan.
welcome to the group!
you didnt mention your age or your husband's age, except that he " has multiple health issues, cognitive decline / dementia"
One thing I learned quickly on this forum, is that LO's with such issues, will get worse over time, and we have to plan for that. We may be surviving NOW, but have to think of a plan when things get worse.
you stated : "No complaints. This is caregiver reality at a bare minimum. Most have it worse. " Well, true, many do have it worse and we hear those stories here on the forum. And for those who have it bad, I truly feel for them. However, are you sure that you have "no complaints"? I will be honest here, but your statement sounds like that of someone who is going to martyr themselves, and that is how I used to be and am trying to get out of.
Everyone is different . What one person can handle another person may not be able to handle. Dont compare yourself to others and try to hold yourself up to what others can handle. That's not a good approach. If you are not handling things well, then remember, things likely will get tougher. You will need something to change, and some other solutions. Dont risk getting burned out badly...
maybe I'm wrong in my impresssions. Do clarify and update us.
Read my comments on this thread. I explain care plans.
It would probably consist of when meals were given. When meds were given. When bathed and dressed. Maybe how the client did overall. There should be something on the internet.
If the care client is coming from a hospital, rehab, or nursing home those facilities send them with a care plan of what needs to be done for them.
We get cases often where it's a family member getting homecare in for a senior who needs some help at home. Most homecare agencies are non-medical so there's no need for a nurse to come out and design a care plan. So an agency supervisor or care coordinator goes out in person to assess the situation and talk with the family (and client when appropriate) about what the client needs are. Then the agency prepares a care plan. I do these all the time. This is how I'm spending this fine Sunday morning. Preparing client care plans.
If there's already a care plan in place from a hospital or care facility, the homecare people reach out to them and discuss that plan and how long it is expected to be carried out.
You can search for sample care Plans and most can relate to home care plans. You would adapt it for the number of people that are going to be caring for the person.
The "illness" or "condition" would determine the Care Plan. Someone with Dementia would have a different Care Plan than a person with Breast Cancer or Pressure Sores.
And the other thing to consider is what other help is available.
Is the person on Hospice, is there 1 or more other caregivers?
Care Plans can and should be as individual as the person being cared for.
- who is being cared for?
- how old are they?
- what are their cognitive and medical conditions?
- where do they live: in their home or yours or elsewhere?
- do they have a PoA?
- what country/state/county does this person live in?
etc.