Professional Advice for Personal Caregiving Questions

Deep breaths by a caregiver

My parents/family are driving me a bit crazy. They are divorced, both in their late 80s, live independently and are actually quite healthy yet still need my help and rely on me quite a bit (as their eldest daughter) for chores, errands, etc. My brothers are semi worthless. I have had to scale down my work to help them part time. This is hard for my marraige, and takes away attention from my own kids. I love them dearly, but still. Any tips for making a caregivers life a bit easier?

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My first response is you need a geriatric care manager to help you organize, plan for care and find resources in your area. Especially in Florida, with its large elderly population, there are many resources for help with senior care. We actually just opened a senior concierge service here in NC just for the errand like chores you are talking about. I am sure there would be similar services in Florida!

On a broader note, it sounds like there may be some boundary issues between you and your parents as well. While it is comendable that you are there for them and they are lucky to have such a loving and dependable daughter, you also have to maintain your own life and your marriage. I would encourage you to google geriatric care manager or senior concierge/errand in your area and start "farming out" some of the chores so that you can to try to get more balance in your life. Remember, if your personal life or your health crumbles, who will take care of them then?

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