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AARP Caregiving Summer Break Contest
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AARP Caregiving Summer Break Contest
Summertime often means taking breaks and planning vacations. Both of these can be a bit tricky while caring for a loved one. Have you traveled with your loved one recently or are you planning to?
Share your experience here and you will be entered in our Caregiving Summer Contest 2018 and could win one of the weekly $100 gift cards or a chance for the overall winning prize of $500 gift card. Your story may be advice or inspirational!
Review rules here: https://community.aarp.org/t5/Caregiving/AARP-Caregiving-Summer-Break-Contest-2018/m-p/2023713#M67
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Hi there my name is Linda and I have Parkinsons and my husband has heart problems, so we take care of each other. We got married later in life and are both best friends but sometimes I am forget full and so is he witch startes the arguements. I don't ever get a vaction or a couple day get away be cause we have a dog and 3 cats. The kids are grown and live close but they have jobs. I would love a little trip to the Ocean since i haven't been there in years....maybe if I win the money I will be able to afford a little get away. Thanks for listening
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We took mom to the beach this year but had to change accommodations to be sure there was a ramp and we rented a beach wheelchair to help get her to the beach. I had to explain to my kids, that I know its hard because grandma is not her old self but we should spend time with her while we can. I have such fond memories of this vacation even if there were some challenges!
I just thought it was me until I learned of AARP awareness and resources I was going crazy. The only programs I like for my mom is at the Alzheimer's Association in my area. The resources are very helpful and has made me so much more aware. Adult day care under Oasis in Santa Monica was an option but for one month is was so costly last year until I couldn't continue to take her but I did have a chance to breath and focus on business . Now Im going to revisit adult day care and budget plan for her to attend at least 4 days out the month because I'm not doing any selfcare.
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Long, hot summer days in the green, rolling hills of Tennessee is what I remember in my Dads last
days of living with me, my kids and my spouse.My father was very ill due to congestive heart failure.But he would leave his oxygen machine and walk our garden every day before the mid
summer temperatures climbed or in the cool of the evening. He was enthralled with the green cucumbers that took over part of the garden. The red Tennessee tomatoes that said pick me! Im ready to be eaten! I like to think he enjoyed those quiet moments treasuring his last days of life with us.I was stressed and tired. It was so hard being a nurse, a daughter and a mother and spouse.
I would not have traded that for anything else in the world.My father and I grew closer but we also fought as well.He established a relationship with my husband who became his best friend. My daughter would ride her tricycle around his chair during his breathing treatments.Family is what matters most in the end of life. I was able to hold his hand when he passed and he was surrounded by the people who loved him the most.So for those of you stuggling do not give up! Its all worth it in the end! Miss you Dad.
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I've been the sole caregiver for my mother with Alzheimer's and bladder cancer. The onset of her dementia was not nearly as rapid as it was for my stepfather. His adult children decided to secretly have him interdicted by the courts, withholding service of the notification and clandestinely having him medically evaluated under false pretenses. Once armed with the interdiction papers, they lied to my parents and told them they were taking them to Baton Rouge for lunch.
Instead, they took them 60 miles away to an assisted living center and left them both on the locked Alzheimer's ward, then returned to ransack the house of any valuables. They also froze their joint accounts, effectively denying my mother access to any of the community property amassed over a 30-year marriage.
Because they were not "holding paper" on my mother, I was able to respond to her desperate calls for help from the facility. I drove to Baton Rouge and explained to my tearful and frightened mother that I could do nothing for her husband, but that if she wanted, I could take her home and would move in and care for her myself to make sure that she was safe and well cared for.
That was her reluctant decision, and we have tried to make the best of a very bad situation. She struggles to comprehend the cruelty to which she has been subjected, alternating between "how could they do that to us?" to "they would never do that!" It really is heartbreaking to have to explain over and over to her that her husband will never be able to come home again.
We do the best that we can, each day.
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Caring for loved ones who are sick can be tricky and difficult at times. But it is also lots of fun. Before we travel we check with the doctor, map out our route, plan for appropriate activities and places to eat that are safe for our loved one, book safe lodging and then try to enjoy ourselves immensely! I know many of us have a sick loved one who needs care and having a vacation together can sometimes be better than having a vacation without them. I just want you all to know that I am happy and thankful for what you are doing for your loved one(s), keep up the great work! It's well worth it!!! ๐
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I spent some time living with and taking care of my Grandmother after college. Going on vacation was not an option, so I did my best to turn that summer into a fun stacation. My Grandmother loved going out to eat, so we ate in restaurants more often then at home, usually joined by my Mom, and often by my step-father and brother as well. It was a way to make us both feel a bit pampered and for someone else to watch after me a moment, plus my mother being there took some of the pressure off of me when it came to caregiving. If only for an hour or so at a time.
Not everyone can travel, so it's important to break when and where you can.
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Hi Caregiver Community,
In an effort to take a โmental breakโ from the constant bombardment of the same questions that were posed by my Aunt (continuously...God bless her) I wrote โher storyโ in a small booklet. Whenever, I needed a break, I would give her the booklet so she could read her story (with amazement and delight) that answered all of her routinely asked questions. My favorite part was when she would read that she was 90 years old. Each time (just like most of the women I know), she would deny that truth... โ90 years old...that canโt be trueโ she would exclaim emphatically...I would laugh each and every time! Affording Auntie the opportunity to read her โbookโ both calmed and entertained her, giving me or other caregivers the mental break that was so needed from time to time. RIP, Auntie Ida!!
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Hi I'm Mary D, It's been over a year that I would take care of my 99 year old Mother and that was the best time doing it with her. It didn't matter where we were but spending time together was very special. Life is unique and is only one. Take care everyone.
Traveling is always a mission. looking for the right hotel room that has the accomodations your loved one needs. Packing the equipment needed, making sure medications are filled and dr app before they go to make sure tthey are healthy enough to travel.
I'm new to AARP, but I've hesrd nothing but good things about it, As I get older planning for trips is a double edged sword. First with retirement comes the free time to travel, but, also the worries of do I have enough of my prescriptions to last through the trip and if I get sick while travelling how hard will it be to find help.
Anyway, I look forward to a long relationship with AARP now.
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As a caregiver most of my life between children, my mom and now my neighbor who is 90 years old and has no family i have always had to find few mi utes whenever available to take time for me. I would after dinner sit o porch for 30 minutes and read to relax. This gives you the strength to be able to give yourself to others.
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Hello, I am a caregiver to a wonderful women who is a friend of the family. She is 82 years strong and living her life to the fullest. We are able to venture out and explore new restaurants and places around the St. Louis area while still finding time to keep up with her hobbies of quilting and painting.
@AARPTeri wrote:
Summertime often means taking breaks and planning vacations. Both of these can be a bit tricky while caring for a loved one. Have you traveled with your loved one recently or are you planning to?
Share your experience here and you will be entered in our Caregiving Summer Travel Contest 2018 and could win one of the weekly $100 gift cards or a chance for the overall winning prize of $500 gift card. Your story may be advice or inspirational!
Review rules here: https://community.aarp.org/t5/Caregiving/AARP-Caregiving-Summer-Break-Contest-2018/m-p/2023713#M67
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