Saturday, November 14, 2009

Dilemma

It appears as though my parents' caregiver, Susie, left without saying anything to us, with the result that there is no reliable caregiver living at the home that we know of. The way these folks operate is that if there is any big change (usually negative) going down, we are the last to know of it. We have to play detective and call them on it.
There are other caregivers who come in every once and a while, but not one of them can do what Susie can. She is an excellent cook, very smart, reliable, and trustworthy, and most of all, kind and compassionate. She gets up early to wake, wash, dress, and feed my early-waking parents, tolerates their difficulties (my mom throws all her clothes on the floor, and, if not watched carefully, stashes important things away so that no one can find them; my dad insists on going out in the yard and over-exerting, then yells and moans when he suffers the consequences). She can be counted on to follow their extremely complex medication schedules. I don't trust anyone else to do that, except perhaps the owner and his wife, and they don't live at the house anymore.
We decided to give it a week or so and see what happens. We don't think Susie is coming back because her belongings (an armchair and treadmill) are gone. I am sad that we didn't get to say goodbye. And I'm not looking forward to having to look for a new place or moving my parents.

2 comments:

Lou said...

Alas. I remember this constant change-over, as caregiving work like this has a very high burn-out rate. I hope there is someone else there who can take over and gain your parents' trust quickly.

Robbi N. said...

You'll never guess! The caregiver is back, though her furniture is not. The only thing I can think of is that they have moved her to one of the other homes, but she is there during the day caring for them. I hope she doesn't leave anyhow. They've been there for almost 4 years, and she has been the administrator the whole time. But you're right that it's a tough job.