Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Being a Caregiver Isn’t Easy

Fidál (Grace), 3 ‘Ilm (Knowledge), 167 BE – Tuesday, October 18, 2011 about 1:58 PM Pacific Time

As my Mother’s caregiver, I have to make choices for her that she cannot make for herself. This afternoon, I realized that one of the choices concerns my mother’s wardrobe. I was hanging cloths for her to wear and I came across two pairs of my mother’s slacks. Mom does not wear slacks any more, she used to wear them all the time, but now she wears only skirts, blouses, and dresses.

Mom does not wear slacks anymore because dresses and skirts are easier for her to get on and off, especially when someone else is assisting her to dress. Mom does not seem to notice that the only that the only choices presented to her are dresses or skirts. Perhaps it is because she was born and raised in a time when women did not wear slacks. I do not think she began wearing slacks until World War II.

Anyway, as I was hanging Mom’s cloths up I came across two pairs of slacks she used to wear. Since there is no use hanging them where she can find them and want to wear them, I put them in a box I am planning to give away. Because Mom suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, she will get angry if cannot wear them and this would happen if she wanted to wear them and I had to say no.

I miss the woman my mother used to be. The woman I could reason with and discuss issues without her repeating herself or getting angry over a difference of opinion. I pray everyday that medical science will find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

No comments: