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Introductions: Are you caring for someone with dementia?
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: Mar 17 6:30pm | Replies (762)Comment receiving replies
Wow, again, @tavi! Thank you! Since we live in a rural area near a small town, may I ask whether you are in a larger town or city? Did you go through a local nursing agency, church, etc? I know I need to just begin to make phone calls, but I am wondering if there is something I'm not thinking of. But I think I have a couple of ideas of where to begin... Oh my. And I remember, while working in the court system, how several people came in, who listed CNA at one of the local nursing homes as employment, of whom I can only say I thought: "Oh man, don't they do background checks, or are they just that needy for help." I don't want to be unfair. I know a lot of kind, good people, too, who have held those positions, but the bad ones just should not be kept on, but often are. And, so, when looking for in-home help, I will be running all names through our local sheriff's office, asking for a state-wide, or national background check Still, people sometimes slip through, but I plan to do what I can, first, to protect both of us. I'm thinking that the VA clinic in a small city near us may be helpful. I would like to clarify, too, that my previous complaints about the VA, dealt more with admission of Agent Orange exposure related diseases and damages. I have found that they otherwise try to be helpful, generally. So, they might be a resource. I'll check them out, too. Thanks again for your advice and warnings!
Replies to "Wow, again, @tavi! Thank you! Since we live in a rural area near a small town,..."
There is a VA program for home care for the Vet only, I can't remember the name of it. The second VA resource is for Vets and spouses, and it's called Aid and Attendance. I when through the paperwork nightmare to get Mom qualified for that one, it helps out and worth looking into if you qualify. Check out the VA web page.
@tavi Your situation sounds so similar to ours. I, too, am looking primarily for a companion at this point, and expect the same reactions from my husband as you are receiving.
@tsoy Super! Thank you!
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@macbeth - it sounds like you are casting a wide net - which is necessary! We live in a large city and I know there are lots of resources available to us that may not be available in other places. I decided to start with an independent agency since my husband's needs at this time are really focused on companionship (and respite for me) rather than physical health support. I'm slowly learning what is and is not available to us at this stage of his illness -- I've been in touch with our County government that has a public health group providing mainly educational support as well as one of our area's qualified Home Health Services group. The Home Health group provides nursing care along with occupational therapy, social services, etc -- their program has some specific requirements and are funded by Medicare. I have not talked with the VA... yet but know some folks have had great success with them. Frankly, figuring all of this out gets to be a lot of effort while also trying to be the primary care giver! .... which takes me back to one of my earlier posts ... the hospice model of full service care is a good one that I wish were in effect for people like my husband.....
Also, a personal challenge we are facing is that my husband sometimes does not recognize the need for additional support here at our home -- he flips back and forth between asking "why is she coming? why is she here?" to "is she coming today? are you getting help today? when is she coming?" His cooperation in receiving care and trusting additional care from someone is unpredictable due to the dementia -- I've learned that we simply must gently power through since I need the additional care!