I will visit mom, who has dementia, more often. I will bring Ari, my girlfriend’s daughter, with me. Nobody engages my mom in activities like Ari and her 8-year old empathy.
I will not lose my patience when mom repeats herself or doesn’t answer a question. In fact, I will use communication techniques that I learned in my Alzheimer’s class in my Geriatric Care Management Certificate program at Hunter College.
I will give mom’s dedicated private (direct hire) home aides a raise. A happy caregiver = a happy mom = a happy son = greater longevity and quality of care. Thankfully, mom has affordable 24/7 direct hire sleep-in aides. (Thanks mom! You helped originate the Care Concierge NY client homecare model.)
I will be mom’s patient advocate and take her to see her neurologist so we can update and enhance her geriatric plan of care.
I will hire Care Concierge NY to compare mom’s monthly expense budget with her monthly income, and project how long her retirement savings will last. (Oh wait, I do that already. Lynn and I are Care Concierge NY.)
I will buy mom an Amazon Echo so she and her caregivers can easily listen to NPR, The New York Times, and her favorite music even though she may not appear to be listening.
If your parents, spouse or a loved one needs my help with homecare, please reach out.