My Support Forums - View Single Post - Anyone here taking care of their elderly parents?

lizardlady · Sep 20, 2008 at 07:37 PM

I am not my mother's actual caregiver. She lives in an assisted living facility. BUT I'm the one who has to make the decisions.... no other family still living. That's a whole nother stressor. First there's dealing with the day to day changes. Then there's the fact that I don't have anyone to help make the decisions or to lean on.

It's been awful. My mother is not only my mom, she's my best friend.

Someone else mentioned that it's like the person you knew dies before their body dies. That's how it feels to me. Some days when I visit she bright, alert and with it. Those days I think there's nothing wrong with her. Other days she's lost, confused and forgetful. Those days are killers. Realize she's not only not going to get better, she's going to get progressively worse. I grive for her even though she's still alive.

This is for all of us in this boat -->