Feeling so overwhelmed and alone this week.

I definitely think it is great to continue to care for the pets that elderly folks or our loved ones we are caring for is an absolute must...but....before bringing a new one into the home, you will end up caring for the pet too and it's needs should be considered...pets aren't disposable ...one of my friends gave her Dad a beautiful chocolate lab puppy. He loved the dog, but it was way too much work for him and they were unable to give him the kind of care and attention he needed. They ended up rehoming him...so I would urge folks to think it through before bringing a new pet into the home...there's always a transitionary period and it can be daunting...

good suggestion olmaandme! My parents do not have animals right now.. other then the wild ones hanging around. I have a dog and a cat and both my parents seem to really enjoy them. They are out walking my dog now.. lol. I feel like my dog (a border collie) senses something about my dad and she will always come up to him for him to pet her and go sit outside with him.

I have thought about getting them a dog.. but am afraid that might be one more responsibility for me... I'm not sure they can handle all that goes with a pet at this point in there lives.

Oh wow...do I have animals....yes, yes, and yes....lol....I have been active in animal rescue all my life and when Mama had her accident, I also had a lot of pets and fosters at the time. I had to bring them all home with me and they are actually a lot of company, but can be a lot of work too. Would take nothing for them. But I think that is a good idea.....

Odd suggestion I know but......Do they have animals? a dog or farm animals?
The reason I ask is this: My hubby and I are animal companions (20 years now)We have taken jobs caring for pets and farm animals as well as property that have often lead to providing care,help and companionship to our human employers.We would feed the animals then serve lunch to our older human employers, do what needed be done around the house etc.
Sounds crazy but those who do care for animals are often more caring, more sensitive and far more reliable than employed caregivers.
If there are animals on the property try an animal companion and ask them to look in on your folks then report to you.This is an offbeat suggestion but in dire circumstances you often need to think out of the box.

Katiekay keep venting! I know how you feel.. I agree with gladimhere that unfortunately it comes to an emergency for them to come to their senses..

Have they taken care of all their legal issues? Do they have a POA ? Will? Family Trust? This all needs to be addressed before the dementia becomes more advanced.?

The burial thing. I am determined to do exactly what I told him....put my tombstone next to my parents and have it made the way I want it as otherwise I won't get anything but a concrete block most likely...THEN I will have it set in stone about my plans to be cremated and scattered down the hill...just like I told him...and to be honest, it is ok with me if they truly do just roll me down the hill and forget about it...I could not care less.

Know what you mean, I used to wake up all the time, feel incredibly guilty for not being there all the time, even before they got to where I might have needed to have been. I don't know, I think I just never planned on marrying until later in life, and then right at the time I actually started looking in that direction, BAM....life happened and all of a sudden it was MY responsibility. Sadly, because my brother already took everything they had after my Dad passed away except for this house, he isn't concerned about losing anything monetarily and he sure isn't volunteering any financial help...other than MAYBE ten dollars a week in grocery items here and there when the mood hits...I have always been active in animal rescue and when this all happened, I had several fosters, including my own cats. I had to bring them home of course. I wasn't about to abandon them. I got chewed out for that too. Told they weren't paying for me to have a bunch of d**n cats. It has been so unfair and so sad. And oddly enough I can tell they just don't give a s**t....

Oh god Hope..i feel for you..and i fear i am headed in that direction too. I just feel that it is so cruel and unloving to stick one person with this huge responsibility with no respite or help at all. I read your post about your brother concerned about how he is going to bury you...omg this makes me angry.

I dont think my siblings or my aunt have any idea of the fear,worry,anxiety i live with every day. I told my aunt (who is 15 years younger than my mother). That i had severe anxiety and would wake up at night with my heart pounding and she actually said...what would do you have to worry about? So clueless..

Gladimhere..
We did pay the caregiver for her driving time to my parents house...and upped her hourly pay..so she was making more there then her other jobs. I hate to beg someone to be there and have her there if her heart is not in it.

Ooooh.....I see you traveling along the same road I have travelled not so long ago....I quickly became the go to person for my parents and my brother was the "ah it's too bad" guy....if I've heard that once I heard it a million times...the planets will never align just right for them to do what you need I fear...I hope I am wrong...but I am sitting here as we speak, now 2 1/2 years into this, having left my job, about to lose my house because I picked the worst realtor I could have found and now it's about to be foreclosed on...lost my health insurance, etc...you get the picture...sitting here tonight after a day of my sweet Mama just staring at me. feeling very VERY alone tonight....I'm not sure what to tell you. When my Dad was still living, and I saw them beginning to have a hard time handling things, I may have become a little too handy a little too soon. I think in some ways I made them more dependent on me. But I, like you, worried all the time about them...could not enjoy my own life for worrying about them. And I constantly got the whole verbage about "we'll be so glad when you just move back home"...for some reason it seems they never thought I should have my own life. I know they loved me....but there are times I think if they loved me like I needed them to they would have rather known I had a life of my own. I never married, never had children...and find myself many times feeling highly resentful because I always felt responsible for their happiness, which I truly think was not fair to me. Don't get me wrong, my parents were precious loving people and I know they loved me and just wanted me closer. Maybe they sensed I was not going to marry and so thought I'd be better off closer to them. Looking back, I should have either moved back a long time ago, or maybe not at all...I lean towards moving a long time ago...anywhoooo, I'm here now...my career is gone (for now) my retirement plan ..gone (pulled it to help living expenses) health insurance...gone....future??? uncertain....I just never figured out how to not feel so guilty for not being here and taking care of them....Dr. Phil where are you when I need you??? anyway, glad to meet you katiekay....I understand the wild array of assorted feelings and how hard it is to make all those decisions....

KK,
Would the caregiver reconsider if you paid her mileage or time for travel? Mom probably did have something to do with it. Have you tried telling her that it is either the caregiver or moving because you WILL NOTbe able to help in the way she wants you to?

Yup, live independently, that is what my mom thinks she can do as well. But in my moms case it is Alzheimer's that causes her delusions.

Gladimhere,
I spoke to the caregiver and she said the drive was getting to her and she had an opportunity to work closer to her home. I do think my mom had at least some part in it tho because she was talking about giving her less hours..as she thinks she doesnt need her as much.,

I do think my mom would prefer for me to do everything because then it appears as if they are able to live independently...which is an illusion.

KK, I hear you. Sometimes it takes an emergency to get the help they need. If parents won't move closer, then you may need to accept that. Do you know the caregiver quit, or could it be that parents fired her? You are doing the best you can in a very difficult situation. Also think about how it would be to be in parents shoes. I imagine they have lived in the house for a very long time, moving away from a quiet, remote spot would be difficult for anyone.