For 40 some odd years, my wife & partner worked with me taking care of the book keeping and looking after all the necessary paperwork. In 2022, she contracted Covid 19, and subsequent to that, she developed Altzheimers desease, which morphed into full blown dementia. We spent our 55th wedding anniversary in the Emergency Department of our local hospital under strict lockdown/isolation protocols. Upon her release, she was sent home and we were assigned some in-home personal care assistance. However, her cognitive decline has accelerated to the point where she's lost her vocabulary, and is no longer able to even identify things she wants. Her behaviour has become obsessive/compulsive, and I've been urged to put her into a "retirement home" but I've no inclination toward that suggestion. Something about a marriage vow that included the phrase " In sickness and in health". This isn't the retirement that I'd envisioned, but when situations become difficult, I remind myself, that this is the one you pledged your love to, and that love trumps everything else.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
Go Ken !!! Love is the answer. At some point doing the caregiving might become something for someone else, but love should dictate rather than convenience.
