[PM_Mama00]

Originally posted by chicagoagd
My grandmother has dementia and pretty much has regressed to a child. Every day my mother had to wash her clothes, sheets, bedspread, chair cushion, sometimes scrub the bathroom down because my grandma was unable to control her bodily functions. She couldn't hire a healthcare worker to help her because my grandmother's health care coverage went to an elderly day care. After much heartwrenching debate, my mother decided that it was too much for her to handle. She moved my grandma into an assisted living place on Monday that is equipped to deal with the daily care for her, and I have to say that it's taken a huge burden and stress off of my mom. .....

My big sis is a psych major so when she got the job of taking care of an elderly woman with dementia (or frontal lobal discrephia?) she thought it was a good thing. She slept at the house adn took care of Julia, and her stepmom took care of her during the day. It was the hardest job she's ever had. She absolutely loved Julia like it was her own grandma, but some of the things she did were really hard to deal with. When my big had to quit cuz of school, she was really sad to leave her but also it was a lot of responsibility taken off of her, besides the fact that she had been doin it in her early twenties.

But after I've seen teh stress that my big was put thru, I have the utmost respect for people that take care of elders.