More often than not, we hear people comment, "Uh-oh, I just had a Senior moment!" I guess it implies that, due to aging, people just accept the idea that we should experience more memory loss as a normal aging process. I don't quite agree with that concept. If that were so, I've been having "memory loss" since I was in my twenties, a young mother in the beginnings of having and raising a family!
How many times did I, or you (?), think of something you wanted to get while in one room, and by the time you get to the other room, you have forgotten why you went there?! How many of you can relate to taking the time to make out that long-g-g grocery list only to forget it at home, and then find yourself attempting to recall ALL the items you had on your list sitting at home on the kitchen table?! I always seemed to recall nearly all of the list; but invariably, there were always at least three, four, or five items I just couldn't remember!
Over the years of raising a family (for me it was being pretty much a single Mom with seven children), working mostly full-time jobs, sometimes along with a few part-time jobs, there was always so much going on with school projects and programs, homework, agonizing over budget issues, wrestling matches or football games, swim meets, Brownie Troop meetings (I was even a Leader at one time), as well as all the normal colds and flues and chickenpox along with a few broken kneecaps and minor concussions resulting in Epileptic petit mal seizures and attacks by a swarm of yellow jackets, how could one NOT forget a thing or two here and there?!!
And now I am a Senior! Having survived all of that, I find myself reflecting on where life will take me from here. I lived alone for several years after going through a second divorce (I never in my wildest imagination even considered I would experience ONE divorce - but here I am!). During the past eleven years, since returning to live here in Colorado (I was born and raised in Michigan, experienced some years in Colorado, then spent five years each in Germany, Louisiana, and then Texas, before returning to Colorado to plan my "Golden Years" retirement!), I have attempted to gear my employment toward work-at-home jobs and was pretty lucky to succeed in that attempt up until 2008 when I lost my primary position in advertising. That created a downhill experience for me complicated by the "aging factor" - it was becoming more and more difficult to find substantial jobs that could provide me with the supplemental income I still required, even after receiving Social Security.
Last year, my 91-year old mother, who still lived in Michigan in a Senior apartment complex, not assisted living, fell and fractured her right hip, went through surgery, four months of Rehab in a nursing facility, then two more months of in-home therapy before finally agreeing to come to live with me here in Colorado. At that point, due to the fact that she could never regain good balance and was forced to use a walker, the doctor would have referred her to reside in a nursing home or have a 24-hour in-home caregiver, neither of which she could afford on her Social Security alone (without all the red tape of applying for Medicaid, etc.); so it was at that time I said she would have to move to Colorado to live with me. I had practically begged her for several years to move out here with me - I cannot live long term in Michigan due to the climate and humidity and the effects on my arthritis. She would never make the free-will choice to come out here until an act of God forced her to agree to the move as she did not like the idea of going into a nursing home.
So now, here I am, the Caregiver (and I capitalized Caregiver purposely because it is a Title, it is a huge undertaking, whether it's your own flesh and blood or not). Since bringing my mother back to Colorado with me (I had dropped everything last February when she fell, went to Michigan, and was there until mid-August), we have experienced so many changes in both our lives, seeking out all the different resources that are available to Seniors here in the El Paso County area, attempting to come to terms with the totally different relationship in which we find ourselves at this time in both our lives.
And that is why I have decided to start this blog. Hopefully, I can be of service to other Seniors and possibly as well as Caregivers by sharing experiences, informing about local resources available in this area, or just offering a little moral support in any area of concern.
I recently attended a "Pampering Day" for Caregivers sponsored initially by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments/Area Agency on Aging. Approximately 60 volunteers provided such pampering services as Massages, Manicures, Reflexology/Foot Massage, Yoga, Pampered Hands, as well as Acupuncture, Exercise Buffet, and Creative Cuisine. There was so much more that, even though the day began at 8:30AM and ran until 1:00PM, it was impossible to attend or participate in each and every event or activity. After a Continental Breakfast, provided by HealthSouth Rehab Hospital, we were free to choose whatever event or activity we wished to experience. The day was topped off with a wonderfully unexpected absolutely great lunch provided by MacKenzie Place! FREE in-home companion care was provided by three local home health care companies, Home Instead Senior Care, Comfort Keepers, and BEO Personal Care. That was the first time since August I felt comfortable leaving my mother at home with anyone for a total of five hours!
Some of the most enjoyable moments of that day, however, more than any of the events or activities, was meeting several other Caregivers and sharing our situations, our experiences, our feelings, without any fear of reprisal or judgment, as we were all in similar yet different situations. One woman was taking care of her husband, another woman was caring for her mother, also, like, me; but her mother was in the throes of serious dementia.
And this is what, partially, brings me to starting this blog. It took me from August of last year until January of this year to learn about several of the resources that became available to me and my needs as well as my mother's needs. I had heard of one thing or another, one resource or another, but it takes time and phone calls and emails, whatever you can do to follow up and track down the right resource for your needs; so I will be sharing and including as much information in my blog with which, hopefully, to assist other Seniors and/or Caregivers, in reaching such resources as might be helpful to their individual needs.
I welcome any and all comments from fellow Seniors, Caregivers, as well as agencies here in the El Paso County area. If my efforts can make life just a little easier for someone else, I will consider this a worthwhile project.
My best to you all, and I wish you all a blessed and happy Easter holiday. I hope you all have the opportunity to spend some time with family. It looks like the weather is going to continue to cooperate here in the Rocky Mountain, Colorado Springs area!
