Adult Care Facilities Provide Caregivers Relief
Adult Care Facilities Provide Caregivers Relief About AARP
I didn’t know how our relationship would eventually change. We couldn’t banter anymore, and he was forgetting the names of family and friends. Because change makes him anxious, we stay home more. It’s been isolating. I learned about from an AARP staffer. The first day I dropped Matt off for four hours at Bethany Village, an adult care facility with a respite program called Day Club, I was so relieved. I went and got a massage with a gift certificate I’d been given. I’d never had time to do that before. I know Matt is safe at Day Club because the people there are so incredibly competent and caring. He sits with a bunch of men, fellow veterans in their military caps. They have lunch, socialize. When Matt is there, I can run errands, come home or have lunch with a friend. It’s wonderful to have four hours to myself to do what I wish, even if it’s mundane things on my own. Just a few hours does wonders in restoring my energy and perspective. No one likes to ask for help, but getting respite time is critical to surviving as a caregiver. —As told to Tracy Schorn
Respite Care Provides Relief
Joy Perry learned about caregiving resource from AARP
Jackie Molloy I was a caregiver for eight years before I discovered respite care. Even before my husband, Matt, received a dementia diagnosis, in 2011, he was becoming forgetful and needed my assistance.I didn’t know how our relationship would eventually change. We couldn’t banter anymore, and he was forgetting the names of family and friends. Because change makes him anxious, we stay home more. It’s been isolating. I learned about from an AARP staffer. The first day I dropped Matt off for four hours at Bethany Village, an adult care facility with a respite program called Day Club, I was so relieved. I went and got a massage with a gift certificate I’d been given. I’d never had time to do that before. I know Matt is safe at Day Club because the people there are so incredibly competent and caring. He sits with a bunch of men, fellow veterans in their military caps. They have lunch, socialize. When Matt is there, I can run errands, come home or have lunch with a friend. It’s wonderful to have four hours to myself to do what I wish, even if it’s mundane things on my own. Just a few hours does wonders in restoring my energy and perspective. No one likes to ask for help, but getting respite time is critical to surviving as a caregiver. —As told to Tracy Schorn