There were few things that really got to Monica. She had raised three children as a single mom while building a career as a financial consultant. She was able to handle board meetings being the only woman in the room and she would then get to her son’s soccer game in time to see him score the winning goal. She was one of those people who was constantly on the move and she enjoyed most challenges.
However, when she took on the role of caregiver for her mother after the stroke, she didn’t know what she was getting into, or what she was setting herself up for. She figured that since she had managed to do all sorts of things in her life, and now that she didn’t have any children at home and her career was well established, she would have more time to focus on being there for her mother, who had been a great support for her through the years.
Within the first month, though, Monica recognized that this new challenge wasn’t quite like anything else that she had every expected or experienced. She would talk to her brother and let him know what was going on with their mother, and she would discuss some things with her friends, but through all of the years that she was working in a cutthroat corporate environment, she knew that showing any signs of weakness, especially for a woman in a male dominated market, would be a dangerous thing.
So she kept things to herself, and she had managed to pull through well enough through the years.
By the time that she recognized that she was in over her head, so to speak, when it comes to her mother’s care, she still couldn’t let anyone know. She was running late to meetings, getting home well after midnight after getting her mother into bed, and waking up before dawn to get some work done that she had to finish before yet another meeting.
She didn’t think about hiring a professional home care provider for her mother, again because her instinct was that would show weakness. Her brother noticed a change in her demeanor on the phone and didn’t pick up on the stress that she was enduring for a while. Instead, Monica suffered in silence. As a result, the care that her mother received was compromised as well.
If you’re a caregiver for a loved one and find that you’re under a great deal of stress, don’t suffer in silence. Ask for help or hire a professional in home care provider to help out. The important thing is the well-being of your elderly loved one and feeling overwhelmed will generally negatively impact that quickly.
