Subscribe to RSSA Caregivers Scare, Part 2
The last few days caregiving has been very stressful and tiring. On Monday we thought Gladys was getting better after her seizure on Sunday night but Monday evening everything went downhill. She is lethargic, having problems standing and moving her legs and arms. In addition to some other issues, her appetite is not as healthy as usual. I just figured out these are side effects of the medication she was give for a bladder infection but I can’t reach the doctor until tomorrow morning.
We had a doctor’s appointment yesterday but I had not seen the correlation between the antibiotic and her recent problems. One of the reasons I didn’t see it is because the doctor and nurses kept telling me how a bladder infection can cause changes in behavior in elderly people. So at first I thought that was it. Another reason is they think Gladys may have had another stroke.
I’ve spent the last three nights sleeping on the couch so I can hear Gladys better when she needs help. Since she started taking the antibiotic, I have to help her get out of her chair, help her to to the bathroom and my husband and I have to put her into bed. Needless to say, I haven’t had much sleep and my back hurts from helping Gladys up and down. I’m looking for some kind of sling to help put Gladys in bed.
I have a new found respect for caregivers who have to do this alone. If I had been on my own the past few days, I would be absolutely exhausted. But my husband is a lot of help and my daughter comes over and gives me a break. There are so many caregivers who have no relief at all and are prime candidates for caregiver burnout.
Hopefully we will be back to normal in a few days.
Related Reading:
A Caregiver’s Scare in the Middle of the Night
Effective Communication Between Caregivers and Doctors
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4 People have left comments on this post
Dec 7, 2008 - 12:12:05I don’t know what kind of evaluation she’s had, but when my late MIL seemed to be failing in ways we could not assess, we took her to a gerontologist. The gerontologist was able to recommend home hospice care for her. This meant a visiting nurse once a week, necessary equipment such as a hospital bed and commode, pads and diapers and so on. It was a huge help, most of all because we were getting support and advice from the hospice team. I wish we had had the sense to do this sooner than we did.
Hi Hattie, Gladys is currently under the care of a geriatrician. Now that she has ceased the antibiotic that was prescribed and her bladder infection has cleared up, she is pretty much back to normal.
Oh, good. That is so nice to hear!!! We were dumb and waited too long to get outside help, but obviously you haven’t made that mistake.
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