Hi Im a private care giver ,I have been careing for people 26 years, I have work with alot of alzheimer's and dementia,I enjoy my work and finding new ways of making life easier on them and the family.
Please rethink what you are about to do. You will need shifts of people. No one person can do it all. Are you prepared to clean her after she urinates or defecates? Also they don't always use the toilet, it will be the floor , their bed, the furniture.They can go for days without sleeping, you can't.If she is already having trouble dressing and cleaning herself it WILL only get worse. Are you prepared for a bedbound person in your house?Please, rethink this and seek an alternative to her coming into your house? Don't let guilt guide you, this won't help your sister.
Pattyf, please be aware that when it comes to Alzheimer's, unfortunately it only gets worse. You will eventually need 2 or 3 Aides to be helping you out.
My boss's wife had Alzheimer's for 14 years, and I saw what he had to go through especially in the past few years. He had a paid Caregiver 12 hours a day during the day, and he would take over the night shift for 12 hours. Quite a few time he wasn't able to come to work because the Caregiver was home with a sick child who was out of school, or the weather was too bad for her to come into to his home. Then he had to care for his wife all day Saturday and all day Sunday as the Caregiver needed the weekend off to be with her own family.
There are agencies where you can call and hire an Aide or Caregiver. Or you can check with your local Council on Aging and they can direct you to places that can help.
My boss's wife had Alzheimer's for 14 years, and I saw what he had to go through especially in the past few years. He had a paid Caregiver 12 hours a day during the day, and he would take over the night shift for 12 hours. Quite a few time he wasn't able to come to work because the Caregiver was home with a sick child who was out of school, or the weather was too bad for her to come into to his home. Then he had to care for his wife all day Saturday and all day Sunday as the Caregiver needed the weekend off to be with her own family.
There are agencies where you can call and hire an Aide or Caregiver. Or you can check with your local Council on Aging and they can direct you to places that can help.