Home Care Aventura FL
When you first hear that your aging parent has Alzheimer’s disease, you know that you are at the beginning of a care journey that will be extremely challenging and emotionally stressful. You likely immediately turned your focus to how to keep their mind active and sharp, and to give them the fullest and most satisfying life possible as they progressed through this journey. While this is important, you must also look beyond these considerations to when your home care experience will come to an end. You might not like to think about it and it may cause pain and sadness when you bring it up, but considering your parent’s end-of-life needs at the beginning of their journey with Alzheimer’s disease allows you to make the best decisions now and then continue to improve their home care as they progress.
Use these tips to help you consider your parent’s end-of-life needs during their journey with Alzheimer’s disease:
• Bring it up. As early as possible in the progression of the disease, sit down and talk to your parent about their thoughts on their end-of-life transition. You might worry that talking about this will upset them, but you are likely to find that when you bring it up they will be relieved you are willing to talk about it. They want to know that you are there for them and that you are going to be willing to help them through difficult issues.
• Record their thoughts. When you are ready to have this conversation, have a notebook and pen or computer ready to record what your parent has to say. Ask them questions about the end-of-life transition such as how they feel about artificial life support, resuscitation, and hospice care. Ask if they have any thoughts about final arrangements or specific ways they want their estate settled. While this might be difficult for you to talk about, recording these thoughts is a way to ensure that when these situations come up, you will know what your parent wanted when they were still of sound mind rather than what they might say when they are further in the disease.
• Be open with them. This is not an easy conversation to have, but it can be a fantastic opportunity for you to connect with your parent and reaffirm your relationship. The two of you are at the beginning of what may be a very difficult road and through talking about things like this openly you are showing that you are fully and completely committed to giving your parent the type of care that they desire and deserve. This will give them confidence that even as they move further into their disease, you will be there to ensure their thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and wishes are respected.
If your parent has recently received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, now is the ideal time for you to start elderly home care. Getting started with this type of care early in their journey with the disease enables your parent to get accustomed to the care provider and to receiving care. This helps them to feel more comfortable with the care efforts and more confident in their ability to live an active, enjoyable lifestyle as they progress through their condition.
