Personal Insight on Long Distance Caregiving for Alzheimer’s
April 10, 2007 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Being a long distance caregiver has its difficulties and frustrations. I lived 275 miles from Mother and Auntie (really not a long distance compared with some). However, I couldn’t be with them all the time to oversee their care, make sure Auntie didn’t wander (her Alzheimer’s was more advanced at that time), take care of their business affairs, and get their meals.
In those days, 15-20 years ago, there weren’t so many facilities available to help with someone with Alzheimer’s. Also, they lived 15 miles from the large city where any professional help seemed available. Friends, neighbors, and family helped as they could.
So it fell to Jim and me to make weekly trips to Mother’s home and the nursing home where Auntie eventually resided. We stayed 2-4 days each time, while we cared for Mother, organized her business affairs, and scheduled friends and family to look in on them.
Even though it interrupted our lives, at least we were able to see Mother and Auntie and keep their lives somewhat organized. When children live many more miles from their parents, caring for them requires assistance from others outside the family.
Liz’s list of Long Distance Caregivers can be of help in these cases.
Mary Emma, thanks for following up with some personal insight into being a long distance carer. With people moving around the world with ease, it’s much more common these days not to live in the same city with your parents. This, of course, casues even more stress when someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.