Being a caregiver is not what I had thought my life would be made up of. My dad ended up on dialysis in 2012 and I was his basic caregiver for the last four years of his life, when he passed in January 2016. After he passed, I started taking care of my mama right after that and she passed in July 2018.
After she passed, I never thought I would be a caregiver again, except for my fur babies. (That’s for another post.)
My best friend had two strokes in December 2023 and January 2024. I never dreamed taking care of him would come this quickly. We had made a pact pretty much that we would take care of each other because he was divorced and didn’t want a relationship, and I had never married. His daughters lived far away so we just decided we were going to look after each other. Well that time came in 2024. He was sent to rehab for four months and then he needed a place to stay pretty much for good. Well it all came to me.
I think he was a little worried at first because he was use to being by himself but he was happy to know he was safe and was going to be taken care of for sure. I told him he was in good hands. I had done this twice and I knew plenty of tricks to the game.
So I would like to share a few things about taking care of someone who is bed ridden and can’t do on their own. (1) If they are not able to get up and go to the bathroom on their own, briefs (diapers) are the best. Also you need to buy some adult chucks. (36 x 36) on Amazon. They will keep you from having to wash sheets if they accidently leak through. (2) if they can use a bedside potty-chair, a quick easy way to keep from cleaning it so often, put a grocery bag or trash bag over the container. This will catch everything and will be easier to dispose of then having to spray and clean it each time. (3) Be sure to get you some no rinse foaming wash. It comes in so handy for quick clean ups for the person. You can find this on Amazon or at Wal-Mart.
I hope these can help you if you are taking care of a person or loved one. I will be back with more ideas later.