I don't think anyone expects to be a full-time or part-time caregiver, but almost everyone will, or else they will need care. I know this, but learned it again after a recent surgery; and after a few years of seeing someone in my family struggle with memory loss (though the doctor can find no evidence of dementia).
If caregivers don't get the help they need, then the people they care for don't get help either. But besides a ton of online blogs or websites about caregiving, getting actual help on the ground can be next to impossible.
In my case, that means getting doctors and banks to get back to me about how to pay bills or get medical information is next to impossible, even though I have a POA. Sometimes, even having a POA is discarded by certain medical establishments because they still require the person in the hospital or treatment center to fill out an ROI form. Only if that person is incapacitated by memory loss or something more, how good are they going to be at filling out the form?
When yet another family member was in the hospital for a serious illness, nurses put the call button next to his hand and hoped for the best. If his friend wasn't with him, God only knows how he would have been able to manage, because he was physically unable to speak due to what had happened to him.
In other words, *Scream.*
Being a caregiver is ridiculously stressful and yet even though we are all going to be one or are one already, t doesn't seem to get any easier. What it feels like (on this end) when I call for help or guidance is that I get put on hold; someone calls me back after three days; the questions I ask don't get answered; I get sent to another "resource."
If you have any experience getting banks or medical care staff to respond, and you want to share it, please do!
No resources to post here - because the ones I've tried aren't working.
Caregiver photo: Susan Jane Golding
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