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| Rebecca Dutton Home After a Stroke |
I live alone so I am both a stroke survivor and a caregiver. Things have been going smoothly so I had forgotten how much caregivers do. In my last post I talked about a water main break. I had to find and contact a plumber to come see why my water was a scalding 155 degrees. I had to be home when the plumber replaced the thermostat and the heater coils. Instead of thinking about my exercises I was making arrangements to get my hot water heater fixed. If I were still married my husband would have taken care of this.
Living alone showed me that caregivers are pummeled by a triple whammy. They have to (1) do the chores they have always done, (2) take on their partner's role, and (3) be a therapist. For example, a wife may have to take out the garbage, take the car to have the oil changed, and change the batteries in the smoke detectors. A husband may have to cook, do laundry, and deal with insurance companies. When caregivers become therapists they may have to help with self-care, set up home exercises, transport a spouse to appointments, and deal with a stroke survivor's bad moods. Yikes!
When I was a therapist I visualized caregivers helping with self-care and exercises. I never pictured them doing additional chores. I never thought about them needing time to recharge their batteries with rest, fun, and social support. Now I cringe when I realize I used to think "oh the spouse or adult child will take care of that."
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