Good Morning, I am the caregiver for my 19 year old son who has cerebral palsy. My husband had heart surgery this last year. I am having difficulty coping with the changes that this has caused. I am very thankful that my husband is doing well, but being the sole caregiver and the additional needs that come with helping a person recover from heart surgery has me on edge. Not to mention entering the 3rd year of the pandemic and the obvious effects of living with a person who is extremely vulnerable. Thank you for having this forum. I stay away from social media so I hope I can find some empathy here.
Thank you for listening & have a great day!
Some days are better than other. The pandemic has put a real strain on doing things because I do not want
to bring anything home when I go outside. This forum makes me realize I am not the only one feeling so overwhelmed.
The feelings you have are completely normal with the responsibility that you have. I am the sole caregiver to my 79 yr old grandmother. I have family but they do not help at all with doing this. I am looking for a place to talk about my feelings of anger, resentment towards my nanny (grandmother), hating my role as a caregiver, stress from doing this.
trapped is the right word. my husband is doing so well, but I his emotions are always on edge in his recovery, luckily my son is wonderful in attitude, but the lack of a break makes me less than I would like to be. Did I mention my elderly mother is very ill & doesn't understand why I don't take a turn at helping take care of her. If I am assertive with her she turns into a victim and gossips to everyone about how no one does anything for her (my sister & brother are at her beck & call) She's like a poisonous snake that I want to keep my distance from, she's more than happy to share personal information on facebook or try to shame anyone who gives encouragement or tells her to be thankful. Thanks for responding, caregiving can be a very thankless job.
trapped is the right word. my husband is doing so well, but I his emotions are always on edge in his recovery, luckily my son is wonderful in attitude, but the lack of a break makes me less than I would like to be. Did I mention my elderly mother is very ill & doesn't understand why I don't take a turn at helping take care of her. If I am assertive with her she turns into a victim and gossips to everyone about how no one does anything for her (my sister & brother are at her beck & call) She's like a poisonous snake that I want to keep my distance from, she's more than happy to share personal information on facebook or try to shame anyone who gives encouragement or tells her to be thankful. Thanks for responding, caregiving can be a very thankless job.
My husband has been diagnosed with MS for 11 years. I am certain he was suffering with it for about 15 years before we finally found a doctor who cared enough to look for it. We have no family and have moved to this area for a job, since there were no jobs left where we used to live. So, I have no friends, family or co-workers for support. He has some mobility issues, sometimes pretty bad, but the worst thing is his frustration and angry outbursts. I love him so much, but when he gets this way, I have to go out for a walk or do something to get away. I feel bad that I have to do this, but I can not talk to him when he gets this way. He denies the behavior. I also have issues I am dealing with. Terrible back problems from a fall and PTSD from an extremely abuseive childhood. I am alslo Bi-polar which is a nightmare in it'self. I don't get the mania, but the depression is horrible. My husband went out on disability right before Christmas. It has been difficult. With all that is going on, do you have any suggestions to help make our lives better?
I am trying to not take anything for granted. Burnout sucks though, I think I am empathetic, but I'm not sure anymore. I am hopeful though, perhaps I'll be able to do the things that I know help me such as swimming laps at rec center or even doing tai chi, I injured myself 2 weeks ago so I feel like I am falling apart, nevertheless, I persist. Love to all y'all