Going to a meeting this week on dealing with being in the sandwich generation. It means taking care of children and taking care of parents at the same time. Hopefully I'll get a few tips. I need it! Dealing with cancer while taking care of children at the same time can be very hard and trying on one person! I'm doing my best. Hopefully it will lift me up and help me deal even better than I am now. More to come after the seminar.
Ok seminar was yesterday and they gave me a lot of good info and websites. Everyone should take this workshop whether you are in this position or not. It gave lots of helpful information I wish I had before my dad ended up so sick and in the hospital (and me being told on an almost daily basis he wouldn't make it through the night). Info like which documents you need (wills, living wills, healthcare power of attorney, durable power of attorney and the list goes on. You can find out what benefits your parent qualifies for at benefits.gov .
I was the youngest person there. Everyone else was a good 10-15 years older than me. I'm a part of the club sandwich generation. Because of my age and my young children. With the way medicare and social security is going I expect by the time my children are grown this will be a fact of life not an oddity. The older generation will have no choice but to live with the younger generation because of lack of access to basic healthcare and there will be no social security. :( This country's priorities are out of whack. Sigh. How do you plan to handle retirement? Do you think you will be taking care of your parent while still taking care of your children?
Dina,
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat. My Dad has stroke, hard of hearing, possible dementia and cancer. i think my mom is showing signs of Alzheimers. I am trying to take care of them from a distance on top of that! They are moving back to Ohio June 1st so my siblings will be near them. They will only be 3.5 hours away instead of 6. Ruthie
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NCSue
I found you at BlogFrog!
ReplyDeleteI'm in a big ol' sandwich right now! I'm a homeschooling mom who is taking care of my 86yo grandma who was diagnosed with lung cancer last October. She has congestive heart failure and vascular dementia from mini-strokes too. I'm on Social Security disability (and Medicare) for medical problems myself. And I have a degree in gerontology and worked in case management with the elderly back when I worked. So I know a little about it!
Not that this helped me in my own caregiving!! Totally different ballgame.
I write with humor about it, painful and stressful as it can be sometimes. It's how I cope. My grandma can be mean! LOL!
Boy, do I know the sandwich feeling -- I'm 48, with two boys, ages 6 and 7. My mother is 92 and I am her only daughter. Thank God, she is actually still independent, but only in the last year starting to need more help. She lives a good hour away, so get out there as much as I can. It's constant stress, but I try to find those moments for myself that I need.
ReplyDeleteRuthie..It's so hard I can't imagine doing it from afar! Danielle writing with humor is the only way to get through it! Sandra...92!!! wow she's amazing! We can get through this! Right? lol
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