One of the hardest things I’ve experienced lately is visiting my grandma in the nursing home. For those that don’t know, she was involved in an accident earlier this year at the grocery store and broke her leg. She started out at the nursing home after leaving the hospital for rehabilitation, but it was later decided that the nursing home was the safest place for her long term.
Looking back, I am positive that this was preventable. If she had kept herself in better shape physically, she would have healed more completely and would probably be out of a wheelchair by now, 10 months later. She may not have broken her leg at all in the fall if she had more muscle to protect her and her bones would not have been as brittle. She had severe osteoporosis quite badly, and didn’t even know it until after the fact. She could have been getting appropriate medical attention beforehand in addition to exercise, and her body would have been far less delicate. A lot of her injuries would have been minimized, and she may have recovered completely.
This is all a very big “what if,” though…
If she were home, she would undoubtedly be happier. She received in-home care in the past and formed an important bond with her caregiver. She still comes to visit my grandma in the nursing home, even though she no longer works for the same care service. It’s a small thing, but my grandma truly appreciates it and looks forward to it. This is but one of the many things that separates in-home care from every other type of care out there. The caregivers are almost always there for the people they serve rather than just the paycheck.
This is one of the key things to look for in an in-home caregiver. Yes, you want someone that is skilled at what they do, but you also want someone that is kind, compassionate, and loving toward the person that they are caring for. In this case, that’s probably your parent or grandparent. A caregiver that cares more about other people that making money is always in your best interest because they will go above and beyond to make sure that they are providing the highest quality care possible. This is what happened with my grandma and her caregiver, and it’s something that should happen with every pairing that is made, regardless of where it’s made. In-home care is a great way to ensure that this happens, but it can take place at an assisted living facility, too. The difference is the fact that in-home care ensures a one-to-one setting, whereas assisted living has more elderly people per caregiver in most instances.
Seeing a loved one in a nursing home is difficult, but sometimes it’s necessary in extreme cases. However, like with my grandma, sometimes the severity of these extreme cases could have been prevented with some foresight. I wish that this had been the case with my family, but there still may be time for you to prevent this from happening with yours.
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