Challenges Commonly Faced By Children Caring For Their Parents by Theresa Maskrey

Caring for older adults is challenging especially if it is a parent. We’ve done it twice now at our house. We learned a lot on our journey and my husband and I have a huge heart for the unique challenges a family faces when assuming responsibility for older adults. At times we thought it would take over our lives. That’s why we have partnered with Brandon Schwab. The founder of Shepherd Senior Living Homes. It’s a "heart thing” as much as a business enterprise. We believe strongly that we are teamed up with healthcare resources and our residents families to create and guard the best possible life quality of our older adults family members. That is a worthy calling for anyone. What I didn’t know at the time can help other families today. Key points you should consider: • A loving son, daughter or grandchild is not an automatic default to the right choice of caregiver. At our house we learned that caregiving is a calling. Not every family member can or should take on this role. Trained care given in the right setting can prolong the life of an older adult. • After the age of 65 the older adults need for healthcare products doubles in the next two years. This includes incontinence products and aids for daily living such as canes and walkers. You may also need fall mats near the bed and grabs bars in the bathrooms to prevent falls. Acquaint yourself right away with the local durable medical equipment store in your area. You can also find online resources • There is a big difference between being old and being ill. We learned the later stages of aging can start with illness or it can start with old age. Treating an older person as if they are ill makes things worse. So does treating an ill person as if they are just aging. You owe it to your loved one to know the difference. Seek guidance from your primary care doctor. If necessary get an evaluation from a geriatrician. • Older adults with early stages of dementia will benefit from memory care service provided by trained individuals in the proper setting. This could prevent rapid acceleration of dementia symptoms. • There is a myriad of services and resources available in McHenry County designed to help you and your family. Not the least of which is the first Shared Housing Establishment in McHenry County. Check online for the senior advocacy agencies in your area. We felt strongly that keeping our loved one out of an institutional care facility was important. We believed that we owed that to our loved ones. So we attempted to figure it our at home. As a result we did not provide best possible care to our loved ones. We would do things differently today. We could have moved our loved from “home" to “home” in house operated by Shepherd Senior Living Homes.