So where do you turn first? The first thing you must consider is separating what are your caregiver needs and what are your general needs. For instance, there are many things you can do to save time that actually have nothing to do with your actual caregiving responsibilities. Consider the following suggestions to save time:
Hire someone to clean your home or and/or run your personal errands.
Hire someone to cut your grass and do other outside work.
Find a laundry mat that will do your laundry and have your dry cleaning ready for you to pick up later.
Use to Internet for research, shopping and communications (e-mail).
What if the above suggestions are unaffordable? You would be amazed at all the places you can go for help that will not cost you very little money. Consider the following:
Social Service Organizations. Look in your phone book for the numbers of some local social service organizations.
Places of Worship. People want to help. Make some phone calls and investigate the possibility of getting into some local church bulletins.
Family and friends of the family. It sounds obvious but for some reason, we seem uncomfortable asking those people that are closest to us for some help. Accept the reality that these family discussions may be difficult and filled with emotion. It is OK.
Do Not Wait Too Long!
After you realize that you need help, please do not wait too long to get it! It would not be a bad idea to have regularly scheduled family-type meetings with your entire support team. This way, everyone will have an opportunity to talk about his/her situation.
Do not wait for a crisis situation to occur. Be proactive. If you need help or if you have specific problems that you want to address, the sooner you assemble your support team, the better everyone will be. Time and time again we wait too long to ask for help and we end up in a room full of very emotional people not accomplishing much of anything. Organize regularly scheduled meetings and be prepared to have a very intelligent dialogue with everyone. Give everyone an opportunity to talk and listen to one another.
Click Here to return to (FAQ INDEX) http://saterihomeinc.com
Click Here to return to (HOME PAGE) http://boardmanmedicalsupply.com