Time To Sit and Vent...

 This disease is awful. My father is going down a slippery slope and he is pulling my mother along behind him.  She is one year younger than he is and her health is starting to fail. A lot of it is because of the stress that watching and helping my father. It hurts to wake up every morning and not being sure what I am going to see when I stop by to visit. I talk to  mom every night to see how things went and I keep a log of what is happening. I am lucky that they only live a few blocks away!

I have found an Alzheimer's/Dementia page on Facebook and have started following. IT is so difficult to read because it is World Wide and nobody  knows what advice to give because they are not sure of what supports are available in any one part of the world. So many people are struggling watching their loved on (LO) suffer. I want to say we are lucky as we do not see many of the behaviors that others have to deal with. We are not lucky because we are watching my dad no longer be the man he was.  He was my go to repair man and now that is gone. I have told mom not to tell him when there is a problem at home because he thinks he can fix it and only ends up making things so much worse. He has flooded the basement trying to repair a washing machine.

Yesterday my mom lost her license because she struggles with decision making and is no longer able to drive. Now we have to decide what to do with their car. There is no longer a driver in their home. They struggle climbing into my SUV so we really need their car to move them around town. We have a plan but I need to look into how it will happen.

Is it wrong to hope that my dad is placed in Long Term Care and mom moves into a Retirement Home. It will take a great deal of strain off my shoulders but I will have to take mom to see Dad regularly, I am not sure what will happen over the next few months. I know that I will accept a bed in any LTC setting but with it will come guilt. am I placing my dad just so I can have an easier life?  I know that relatives will share their thoughts, although they have not really been involved for a number of years. I will tell them exactly that! 

Today was just a chance to vent. IT has been rough these past few weeks. Maybe things will improve. Who knows? I truly understand being the sandwich generation. 



   

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