As we progress down the sad road of Parkinson and intermingled dementia I am always looking for ways to help Cheryl or get help for her and me. This web blog by Cheryl Hughes is and has been a source and an inspiration to me.
For the past few days as Cheryl has struggled through various mental clouds I have begun to ask about and look for trusted home health services. She is coming off of a UTI which I am getting pretty good at recognizing just by behavior. Some sort of mild sleep disturbing cough (thankfully not Covid related) has messed with sleep cycles for her and me. All of that is easing as the antibiotics have been used up. We are slowly drifting into our weekly sameness.
The past week of April has been beautiful in Ohio. On Tuesday I road my Rad City bike out of our drive onto the public roads. This is something that I have spent the winter gathering the courage to do. I rode around late morning to early afternoon on residential streets near me so that I did not have to deal with rush hour frantic antics. I greatly enjoyed my ride and although it was not long I realized that I was relaxed when I returned. My cousin-in-law was sitting in the kitchen with Cheryl having lunch and I was pleasantly fatigued.
It is time for me to get some consistent considerate help. It will cost money but there is that story about camels and needles that reminds me of my real responsibilities. Financially rich is not a good description of us but I am acutely aware that Cheryl’s care will cost more as time goes on. I may be too concerned about that but it is something I think about often.
Cheryl Hughes has pointed me to DailyCaring.com which is now sending me email newsletters. This website may prove invaluable as I try to learn more about helping Cheryl. Other friends have pointed me to a home care group that I will contact in the coming week to get established.
Carpe Diem
Adjunct_Wizard 
I’m relieved to read that you are getting some help, taking time for you. You have graciously, humbly, lovingly carried so much. I have been inspired by your example.
LikeLike
It is a slow path to reality but I think it is time to look for others to help. I need to understand that I can’t do it by myself even if I want to. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did my intake with hospice last week. It’s not what I would call a considerable amount of care, but it’s a start. A CNA comes twice a week to help me bathe and dress. She washes the sheets and cleans my medical equipment (c- pap & pure wick). That frees my husband up for 6 hours a week. I have massage therapy every other week so that is another hour that he gets a break . A nurse comes in twice a week to take vitals and do med management. Their pastor is available if we want him to come by and I have a volunteer companion that’s here 2 hours a week so my husband can run errands. So the time he’s gaining is going to be huge because we don’t have a support system in place like y’all do.
In addition to the services, hospice is a different money pool for our insurance si we save all our medications co-pays and the cost of the incontinence supplied. That’s a savings of $700 A month
Might be worth looking into.
LikeLike
Thanks for the tips. I will look into it.
LikeLike