Never work in a nursing home.

  • happybadger [he/him]
    hexagon
    ·
    3 years ago

    My condolences comrade. Caretaking for a condition like that is an impossible burden and it's equally impossible to separate the person from the disorder. It completely poisoned my relationship with my grandparents until I could accept that they died the day they were diagnosed. The systems that force it should be burned to the ground along with everyone responsible for such barbarism.

    • Bluegrass_Buddhist [none/use name]
      ·
      3 years ago

      :meow-hug: Thank you, and condolences and solidarity to you too. I've accepted that the people who helped raised me are effectively already gone, but it's still hard to see them struggling and know it's only going to get worse.

      • happybadger [he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        3 years ago

        You're giving them a level of rehumanisation they wouldn't have in a nursing home. That's the best anyone could ask for given the circumstances. There's absolutely no shame in taking that step for their own protection when your own abilities are exhausted but either way you're protecting them at their most vulnerable moment.

        • Bluegrass_Buddhist [none/use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          We're getting close with my great-grandma, she'll have to go into a medicaid facility sometime next year if she lives that long; we already had to sell her house back to the bank in order to pay for all her medical expenses.

          Thank you for the kind words, for real. And godspeed to you too; I can't imagine doing this type of work professionally. :fidel-salute-big:

      • mojo [they/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Alzheimer's is a curse like no other, you have my solidarity. I grew up with my grandmother having early onset Alzheimer's and she moved in with us in the final years when I a teen. I didn't realize how it effected me until I spent some time processing years later. She was an amazing woman who dedicated her life to advocating for Alzheimer's after her diagnosis but I only ever got glimpses of that growing up. Some of my earliest memories with her are when she would "give me the talk" that she had Alzheimer's several times a day and I couldn't say anything because I didn't want to hurt more. Best of luck to you.