Family Caregivers Sharing Responsibilities

Shortly before I became a caregiver, I started searching the internet for tips and information about caregiving.  One of the items that kept coming up was caregiver fatigue.  There were so many blogs and websites that talked about the importance of family caregivers getting enough rest and enough help.  Ideally, family caregivers would share the responsibilities of taking care of their loved one.

Taking care of Gladys has changed our lives and it can be tiring, but my family has worked out a schedule and plan for sharing the responsibilities of caregiving.

My Responsibilities:

• Bathing
• Grocery shopping (Gladys has diabetes and high blood pressure)
• Doctors appointments
• Filling prescriptions
• Refilling the pill organizer
• Taking care of Gladys’ laundry
• Laying out her clothes for the day
• Helping Gladys get dressed and undressed
• Cooking
• Cleaning Gladys’ room
• Paying Gladys’ bills
• Taking care of legal matters
• Shopping for Gladys’ clothes
• Purchasing  handicap accessories

Fred’s Responsibilities:

• Takes Gladys to and from Adult Day Care
• Takes Gladys her meals
• Gives Gladys her medications
• Cleans her bathroom
• Takes her for “walks” (in a wheelchair) around our subdivision
• Prepares her late afternoon fruit snack

Anita’s Responsibilities:

Anita is one of our adult daughters who has her own home but helps with Gladys.  She is our Sunday caregiver.

• Comes to the house on Sunday’s at 6:30 AM to stay with Gladys and get her ready for our 10:45 AM church service
• Prepares her breakfast on Sundays
• Helps her get dressed on Sundays
• Drives Gladys to church and gets her settled
• Stays with Gladys when Fred and I are both away from home

Some people would say that Anita’s contribution is fairly insignificant but that’s far from the truth.  Anita’s contribution helps me keep my job.  I work for my Pastor and have to be at work on Sunday mornings at 7:00 AM to prepare for our 8:00 AM service.  So far this has worked out well for us.  Even though I have the bulk of the caregiving responsibilities, they are not overwhelming.

I am blessed to have so much help from my family. How does your family handle caregiving tasks and responsibilities?

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