Here’s a situation that can feel all too real for family caregivers. Your dad has Alzheimer’s disease and always said he never wanted senior home care providers to help him. He wants you to be his only caregiver. You’ve spent ten years being there for him. You take him to every medical and dental appointment. He joins you on shopping trips, and you take him on your vacations so that he’s never alone. You even moved in with him.

He needs more care than you can handle, but his demand that he never has a stranger providing his care weighs on you. You need help. How do you bypass the guilt you feel when you’re thinking about arranging senior home care services?

Remember That You Can’t Fix Everything

You may be tempted to do it all on your own. People with fixer personalities want to make everything better. They want to help others avoid feeling stressed or uncomfortable, even if it’s impossible to avoid it.

Your dad has a horrible disease. As much as you’d want to take on his agitation, frustration, and emotional pain, it’s impossible to fix it. He needs more help than you can give him, and he needs to learn to adjust to that on his own. You’re not helping him if you keep taking over and delaying senior home care services.

Empowering him is better. Step back, hire senior home care, and let your dad work through his fear of having to rely on a stranger. Make sure he knows that he can be part of the hiring process. By the time the caregiver comes into his home, he’ll already have a sense of what to expect.

Don’t Forget Self-Care, As It’s Just As Important

If you’re always taking care of your dad, when do you take care of yourself? It would help if you cared for yourself, too. What happens if you’ve ignored yourself for so long that something is wrong? Who takes care of your dad when you’re exhausted or having health issues of your own?

One family caregiver found that to be a problem when she’d been caring for her mom and dad for over a decade. She learned her exhaustion had other reasons. She was severely anemic. Months of tests and scans found no cause, so her doctor figured it had to be related to stress and diet.

That could be you. It’s time to focus on self-care. You’ll still be able to provide the care your dad needs. You just have trained caregivers to help lighten your load. Call our senior home care agency to make plans.

If you are considering Senior Home Care Services in Lexington OH, call the caring staff at Central Star Home Health at (419) 610-2161.  Providing services for families in Mansfield, Lexington, Bellville, Crestline, Galion, Shelby, Ashland, Ontario and the surrounding areas.

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Stephen Sternbach

CEO at Central Star Home Health Services

With over 35 years of experience, Stephen Sternbach has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Star Multi Care Services since 1987. After the sale of the New York and New Jersey operations of Star Multi Care Services, Sternbach brought the company private where he remains President and CEO of this 40-million dollar company. With Sternbach at the helm, Star Multi Care Services employs more than 650 employees, in six offices throughout Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

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