By Chris Cole
“I promised I would never do this” is something we hear in our memory care communities time and again. Alzheimer’s and Dementia is such a hard disease on families and loved ones. It puts them in situations they never dreamed they would be in. Taking care of someone dealing with this disease is more than a full time job, it takes a team of people to provide this level of care.
Families struggle to the point of frustration and exhaustion that others just can’t see. For example, they might not see the caregiver spending long nights with their loved one making sure they don’t leave the home or keep them from trying to cook a towel in the microwave or rearrange the house to the point where the peanut butter is in the garage and the WD40 is in the fridge.
This same loved one giving care is up the next morning and off to work with maybe an hour or two of sleep. This can become a daily routine that others just don’t see. Then, there’s the guilt that comes from being the one to “put” their loved one in a memory care community and the disdain they might sense from other family members or even friends who don’t see how hard the care has become.
In all of this hardship there is hope because there are wonderful communities out there willing and ready to take care of their loved one and give them their best possible life even with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. This is where the team of staff come in to help them get through their day and help the family caregiver get their life back at the same time.
Choosing a memory care community is one of the hardest and most important things we do. Entrusting others to take on our role for our most treasured loved ones is scary at best. The right memory care community is going to be there when your loved one wakes up in the morning, helping them to the bathroom and getting dressed and off to a wonderful breakfast with their new found friends and daily activities.
Memory Care residents have so much to look forward to in their communities such as friends and wonderful caregivers that are at their fingertips from the time they wake up to the time that they go to bed at night helping them with the daily events of life like brushing their teeth and getting to their exercise class on time.
Residents also enjoy church services, piano players, choirs, getting their hair done, making apple streusels with their best friends and the gents watching sports on the big screened TV and bowling in the halls. Having afternoon karaoke and playing checkers with pieces as big as dinner plates and laughing all the while.
Yes, the decision to choose a memory care option is a very hard one that no one wants to make but, amazingly, it is oftentimes the best decision the family will make. As their loved one is taken care of they now get to be family again and not the caregiver. Memory Care communities give the family member their life back so that they can enjoy their loved one again and not have to ever worry about the care that they are receiving even when they are not there and that can be and is such a gift.
