After Sally’s mother Regina had a stroke more than six months ago, Sally didn’t know if her mother would ever recover physically. Through six months of physical therapy, she had reached a point where she could walk again and Sally was relieved, to put it simply. However, as Regina’s caregiver, Sally was concerned that her mother was slipping into a depression.
Regina had been sleeping more during the past several weeks, refusing to get out of bed when she usually did and avoiding the most basic of activities. At first, Sally simply allowed her mother to sleep in and didn’t bother her, but Sally also had to live her own life and was concerned that her mother wouldn’t be able to get out of bed when she would want to.
Sally didn’t consider hiring an in home care provider for her mother because she didn’t think that they could afford it, even though she never really looked into it. Providing home care for her mother was just something that Sally thought was her responsibility, so she set out to take care of her mother without question and without complaint.
Yet during these past few weeks, seeing that he mother was beginning to withdraw and spent more time sleeping, she figured that she was a little bit out of her league. The doctors had told her in the beginning that her mother would probably spent a lot more time sleeping and recovering, but they had also implied that Regina would eventually be able to make a full recovery, though there were no promises about it; it would, ultimately, all depend on her personality and will to get better.
Her mother seemed determined to get better and worked as hard as she could to recover and Sally had been so proud of her. Now, with her sleeping more again, Sally was concerned. She contacted her doctor and was told to bring Regina in for a checkup. While there was nothing physically wrong with Regina, the doctor determined that one of the medications she had been taking was causing her to be fatigued, depressed, and withdrawn –one of the common side effects of the medication- so he changed prescriptions.
Regina ended up feeling better and was able to get up and out of bed, but Sally also realized that her mother needed more professional care at home, so she sought out the right home care providers. She loved being her mother’s caregiver, but her mother needed more than she could offer now.
Ed Hayden’s life-long vocation in human services spans over 40 years.
