Adults in the sandwich generation know the call, “Come over now, your Dad fell” or “Your Mom needs you more than work…”.

Many Americans have no paid or unpaid family or sick leave. As a result, many family caregivers lose pay or their jobs. According to AARP:

  • Most family caregivers work full or part-time while caregiving.
  • Six in 10 family caregivers report making work accommodations because of caregiving duties, including arriving late/leaving early or taking time off, cutting back on work hours, changing jobs or stopping work entirely.
  • Family caregivers age 50 and older who leave the workforce to care for an aging parent lose, on average, nearly $304,000 in wages and benefits over their lifetime.

Caregiving can result in a collapse of healthy and necessary boundaries. As the saying goes, “You cannot give from an empty cup.” There comes the point when the needs of an aging parent are too much for the family caregiver. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you need caregiver relief.

  1. Does your loved one require care that is difficult for you to manage?
  2. Are your other responsibilities becoming compromised?
  3. Have you hurt your back or fallen when trying to lift or move your loved?
  4. Is your relationship with your elderly loved one becoming compromised?
  5. Is your health declining?
  6. Have you experienced an extreme sense of being overwhelmed?
  7. Are you receiving sufficient sleep?
  8. Have you had changed in appetite, resulting in weight loss or weight gain?
  9. Have you given up on hobbies or activities that provide life balance?
  10. Do you dread waking up in the morning?

Caregivers know first hands that many aging adults do not want a stranger in their home nor do they want to be placed in an unfamiliar environment such as a nursing home. The elderly thrive when they are in environments that provide security, familiarity, and independence. Home care is an option that can work for the entire family.

Home health care offers family caregivers balance, provides the best care to aging adults and ensures both parties can resume a healthy parent/child relationship. Onyx Home Care partners with family caregivers to ensure each patient is paired with professionals that meet the patient’s needs and mesh with the family to create an environment of healing.