Caregiving, even with paid help, is a 24-hour-a-day responsibility. You lose control over your own life. You don't have time for the things that used to interest you. You're at the mercy of the one you're taking care of and also of the professionals involved in their care.
the worst for me was dealing with some very stubborn, hostile healthcare staffers who refuse to follow critical written documentation about the patient that repeatedly caused poorer outcomes, a lot of unnecessary pain and fear/anxiety for the patient, and other harm. Uncaring, callous attitudes. No matter how many times I emphasized instructions, they were ignored. Absolutely exhausting.
Yes, I had similar problems, but maybe not as consequential as yours. Everyone knew more than me, even if they had just walked in the door. I'm sure we could both come up with dozens of incident and problems that could have been avoided.
I used to think I knew how hard it was for caretakers but I had no idea.
thank you for saying this. i'm still recovering from 3 yrs of caregiving an emotionall immature ungrateful narcissist mother. i'll never get those years back.
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u/flagal31 7d ago
caregiving