Raise the Hammer

The Provincial Liberals handed out elder care services like candy to their 'friends' & left those in real need to fend for themselves.

We have had 60 years + to prepare for The Boomers to become seniors, & we cannot even accommodate the needs of the Boomer's parents!

After what I experienced looking after my Mother for over 2 decades, it's a wonder I'm not in a psych ward! I got no help from CCAC until my Mom ended up wheelchair bound after a severe fall. Even after that, in spite of her being in her late 90's, being incontinent, totally deaf, & having severe dementia, I had to threaten to refuse to take her home to get any help at all.

I have no family other than my daughter who works full time. When I mentioned that I had a 2nd cousin living in Barrie, in her 80's without a driver's licence, I was disqualified from help on that basis. She was looking after her husband who had had a stroke. Was she really expected to take 3 buses to Hamilton to assist me & my Mother? Was there any logic in that decision?

She was often verbally abusive, & physically confrontational. From the 1st cup of tea in he morning until the last snack of the evening, some days I could never do anything right for her. The last 3 months that she was at home, she stopped sleeping at night, & slept very little during the day. By the end of this period, I was so sleep deprived that I pretty much went nuts.

It took THAT to finally have her placed in a nursing home!

Telling someone that there is a 5 year, 2 year, or 3 year wait for a placement in a nursing home is ridiculous. Doubly ridiculous is telling the family that "they have Chosen" to look after their parent at home. There are no spaces available so, how is this a Choice?!

Pushing care givers over the edge is a recipe for elder abuse & frequently the senior is the abuser of their caregivers.

Comment edited by D. Shields on 2015-02-07 05:31:06