Caregiving 101: Part Seven: What Comes After

My mom and I put the stamp on my dad’s 2018 tax return in March of 2019. That was it, I thought, the last thing I have to do for him. All the papers had been filed, the stuff sorted, the bills paid, the money disbursed, and the responsibility done. I was finally free. True,

Caregiving 101: Part Six: Grief and Loss

October 13, 2018 was a long day. My brother picked up my car to work on it, while my mom and I replaced my bed and took a trip to the dump. We then went to my brother’s to pick up my car. I got home late and had barely settled down for the night

Caregiving 101: Part Five: Living Situations

When I took over as primary caregiver for my dad, my immediate concern was moving him. He lived alone in an apartment, almost an hour away from me, and he wasn’t safe where he was. At the time, I knew nothing about what help or places were available to people in his situation. My first

Caregiving 101: Part Four: Feeling Alone

I took deep breaths, frantically thinking through the implications of my decision. It was hard to keep calm when I so desperately wanted to do the right thing. I had a specific deadline to meet to move my dad from his current unsafe living situation by himself in an apartment. I had done research, I

Caregiving 101: Part Three: Balance and Boundaries

It was 4:30 am. My phone vibrated incessantly next to me. I blinked blearily at the screen, recognizing it was Dad. Again. I had lost count of how many times he’d called me already. I had as many messages as I did missed calls. Each voicemail was similar: I was trying to steal his money,

Caregiving 101. Part Two: Changes

As you begin to live the caregiving life, you will notice changes: behavioral, mental, emotional, and physical. Handling these changes will be a big part of your life. A caregiver watches someone transform before their eyes. It is incredibly painful, seeing the person you know disappear. But whether the changes are subtle or sudden, they

Caregiving 101. Part One: The Diagnosis

Dad was sixty-one and I was twenty-nine when we learned he had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. What is Alzheimer’s? Despite my proximity to this disease, I am no expert. If you have more questions about it, I recommend you talk to what specialists we have, but it’s a disease that is confusing, even