LO can be siblings, adult children, relatives. Later in life is fast approaching, and I want to be the sweet little old lady any caregiver would love to fix hair, wheel around, give good care to, be proud to take out in public, and most of all love. A recent fall in my yard made me realize that may never happen, and I could end up an awful person.
Make this post about you, what are your hopes and dreams as you age, how will you fulfill that? What is your caregiver going to post about you.? Yes, it is fully understood we don't care what "they" say, but what would YOU want them to say?
Go ahead, exaggerate!
"she use to go to the gym 3x a week for decades and now look at her, so out of shape.".....
and "how old is that cat now? 28?"
"I see she still has that old Jeep, she swore she would drive it until the wheels fell off... I see one did".
Sleep is a huge issue. She has a genuine sleep disorder and her nights and days are mixed up. This was just odd when she could be left on her own, but now that she needs some supervision when she is awake we are having a very difficult time managing that. Right now we have two caregivers who cover 9 pm to 5 am 7 days a week. It is really hard when one of them is sick or needs time off! We think she might be willing to go to a care center but none of the ones we've talked to have a clue how to provide activities, meals, etc. on her weird schedule.
Food is another issue. She has a good appetite and likes a very wide range of foods, but texture is very important to her and now that she has some swallowing difficulties it is about impossible to get her to eat pureed foods. She is OK on smoothies and milkshakes but she insists on eating some "real food" as well, and we are all worried she will aspirate food. When she was a bit younger and it might have made sense she absolutely refused a feeding tube, saying she'd take her chances with aspirating and dying.
She talks to herself, but we are used to that. She also talks to a ragged old teddy bear quite a bit.
Good God! What do I do with this crazy old woman! She has a dirty potty mouth and absolutely no filters. She seems to think that telling it like it is, is appropriate! She is willing to take her medications (thank goodness) but completely refuses to give up her gaming habit. She has accounts in every single MMORPG that is available and is always insisting we upgrade her computer so she can play faster (even though she has zero reflexes and spends her time yelling at the "noobs" in the game). I'm surprised she can easily work the newest of computer devices to play her games, but can't figure out the microwave or the remote control for the TV. She loves to eat a varied and large diet...so we must restrict her food but she swears that if we take away her Kraft macaroni and cheese she will stage a sit in. What's a sit in? She has an endless supply of cross stitch stash which she swears she needs every bit of, even though she has enough for many lifetimes. Finally, now that the right to die is in effect at the federal level, she constantly checks to make sure that her end of life (life stopping) medication is within her reach. With her genetic Parkinson's disease she swears she will off herself before she is unable to enjoy life any more. I worry I will find her dead in bed some morning with no warning...but she will have a smile on her face.
Angel
She does bath and change her clothes but is very picky about her food. She has to fancy it or she won't eat. I could write a lot more but don't have all day like Mum.
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