Watch for these clues this holiday season indicating your parent might need help around the house
Ageless — that’s how I would describe my parents during my college years. I remember their joy and energy. Especially during the holidays when the spirit of the season just filled us all with joy and the family table would be filled with storytelling, reminiscing and smiles. I’ll carry those memories throughout my life.
After college I got a job, built a career and came to understand more clearly what it took for my parents to be so emotionally available to me. Life — or adulting as my friends put it — is hard. How in the world did they make it look so easy most of the time? As much as I loved them as a child and later as a young adult, I came to admire them more as my life took form.
Years later while visiting during the Christmas season I was shocked — my parents seemed to have aged dramatically. Things weren’t right. Something had gone sideways. I was gripped with a sense of panic. Tasks around the house that seemed at times trivial had become more difficult. The mood of the house had changed, and the sharp wit that my parents had been known for by our friends and relatives had lost its edge.
I searched the internet to find an answer, to find out what I was supposed to do. The world’s trajectory had bent. My mom and dad — the people who’d helped me my whole life— were in need of help now. What could I do? My job and family were far away now. It wasn’t a matter of making a change in just my own life, but also in the lives of my own family.
“In Home Care.”
The words came up on my screen and as I learn more it seemed like a fit. People would come to my parents’ home and take care of them in the place they felt most comfortable. We wouldn’t remove them from the place they felt most comfortable. They could be together and support one another, manage the tasks they could and receive help for those tasks that’d become too difficult. They’d have trained help. People who care.
This day comes for millions of people, but until it happens to you, it’s so hard to imagine how hard these times can be. For many, confronting the fact that a parent or parents are going need in-home care can feel tragic, devastating and isolating. Who is there for an adult child needing advice and help managing the health and care of a parent who is losing the ability to do it themselves?
Twelve signs your parents might need In-Home Care all the time, not just holidays
- Are they forgetful?
- Are they not as quick and sharp minded as you remember?
- Are they having difficulty rising, walking and/or balancing?
- Has their hygiene regimen changed?
- Are their clothes clean? Do their clothes match? Are they dressed weather appropriately?
- Has their housekeeping pattern changed? Is their mail piled up? Are bills paid on a timely basis?
- Have their eating habits changed? Is there fresh food in the refrigerator? Are they eating more canned or frozen foods? Unexplained weight loss or gain?
- Have their long-time sleeping patterns changed? Are there more or fewer naps than usual for them?
- Do they easily get confused or disoriented?
- Are they now moody, agitated, apathetic or indifferent?
- Increased difficulties when making decisions?
- Is there a change in their socialization or hobby patterns?
If you notice any of these signs that mom and dad need help, research reputable and local in-home care agencies near you.
If you have specific questions, feel free to give us a call at EGIS Complete Care, Inc. at 505-995-0485. We’re here for you and have worked with people just like you dealing with the same issues.