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Posts Tagged ‘respite’
Our First Weekend of Respite Care
Respite care is the provision of short-term, temporary relief to those who are caring for family members who might otherwise require permanent placement in a facility outside the home. (definition from Wikipedia)
Last weekend we took advantage of respite services offered by our hospice provider. In order to receive the services we had to request a date and set it up in advance. About a month ago, I gave them two sets of dates from which to work. The social worker checked with the three nursing homes they use to see if beds were available for either of the dates provided. One of the nursing homes had a bed available for my second choice, April 30 – May 2. We took it.
Why We Opted For Respite Care
Most people use respite care to rest or to take a trip. We used it to work. Gladys is losing control of her hands; as a result, she drops a lot of food and spills a lot of drinks. We decided it was time to pull up the carpet in her room and replace it with something that was easier to clean – linoleum. We couldn’t do this with Gladys at home because she can’t walk up stairs and we wouldn’t have anyplace to put her while we worked. So we decided on respite care.
The Plan
- Enlist the help of husband, daughter and daughter’s boyfriend
- Get a commitment from said family members to help for the three days
- Friday: 1) Take Gladys to the nursing home by 9:00 AM. 2) Remove all furniture and items from Gladys’ room and storage area. 3) Paint bedroom and storage area.
- Saturday: 1) Installers remove carpet; prep the floor, install linoleum and shoe mold. 2) We paint shoe mold and baseboards. 3) Let floor settle.
- Sunday: 1) Move furniture back in. 2) Assemble closet organizer. 3) convert storage area to a walk in closet. 4) Install new blinds and sheers. 5) Bring Gladys home.
Reflections
Even though we worked during our weekend of respite care, I was surprised at how restful those three days were. Just as the definition says, it was a relief – a relief to not constantly check on Gladys; a relief to sleep through the night without listening for sounds coming from the baby monitor; a relief to get up in the morning and have a leisurely cup of coffee. It was restful in a different kind of way.
I was apprehensive about leaving Gladys with strangers but it was comforting to know that there was a staff of nurses to take care of her. I also thought I would go by each day to check on her but at the end of the day I was too tired from painting and moving furniture.
All in all, my plan for the weekend went well, and a lot was accomplished. Next week I’ll give some feedback on the facility.
