New Caregivers...Take Two!

The past couple of weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind. Quite frankly, I'm a bit tired and ready for the weekend!! We started out last week with mom's sudden spurt of energy, and she hasn't calmed down much since. Because of our worries about mom getting out of the house, we've had to make sure someone is there with her all the time, which has presented some difficulty for us because up until now we felt like mom was okay by herself in the afternoons (her feet were usually only happy in the morning). We only had caregivers lined up for the mornings and even then, my Aunt and Uncle were on vacation which left their time slot uncovered. We decided to take the opportunity, while they were out of town, to try out a new caregiver during his time slot (more about that in a minute). After last Monday, it became apparent that we were going to need a lot more help than we had lined up. Fortunately, between friends from church, family, my sister and myself we've been able to keep an eye on mom the entire day. It's been a lot of work, but we made it through and we finally have a game plan from here on out!

I told you that we tried out a new caregiver while my Uncle was out. I had put in several calls over the past month for potential caregivers and finally found someone who was available when we needed her. Unfortunately, that arrangement didn't work out after all. When I initially called this caregiver, I thought she understood that I was looking for a permanent caregiver. She agreed to come and was fine with the days/hours, but after day two it came out (in a round-about sort of way) that she really wasn't looking for anything permanent (though she is willing to come when we're in a pinch and need an extra hand). So....after I made up an entirely new caregiving schedule, I crumpled up my sheet and went back to the drawing board. We met with a couple of potentials, worked out all the kinks and several headaches later I FINALLY have a weekly schedule that covers mom throughout the entire day while dad is away at work. We are still using some family and friends as volunteers (bless you all!!) but have hired 2 caregivers to come in part time to start taking on some of the load. It's a breath of fresh air to know that we have people lined up now for those days when family/friends might have other plans and we need a sub. As mom's disease progresses, as our volunteers become burned out, and as budget allows, we can start to replace more of the volunteer time with the caregiver time.

It's been an adventure! I am so thankful for all the friends and family who have helped us in all of this and who have been patient while I work out all the kinks in the schedule.