The DU Lounge

Being a caregive means crushing responsibility and exhausting physical requirements. That is why care facilities have a charge nurse, nursing assistants, housekeepers, and cooking staff working shifts of 8 hours a day. A home caregiver trying to fill all these roles round-the-clock often has no time or energy to also be a family member, to provide personal support for your loved one. Once my dad enteredca care home, my mom visited him every day but Mondays, her bridge day. On dad's good days, she played tapes of Andy Griffin singing hymns, she read him Louis L'Amour westerns, she shared family news, and she pushed his wheel chair around the garden. When he was home, of course, she had no energy for these things. And, when he was home, she lived in fear due to his violent outbursts from the dementia, something that would have horrified him if he had been in his right mind. Take care of yourself. You are doing right by your husband.