Our every-day responsibilities can make it difficult to be there for our parents when they need us, especially as their health begins to require more our attention more often. In response to this issue technologies have come about to help balance duties as a caregiver and life as a busy adult.
In order to keep the folks in the independent living community as long as possible, the family had a “pow-wow” to agree on ways to share the responsibilities of caregiving.
One brother does the finances, one visits twice a month to take them out for a drive, while my husband and I deal their healthcare needs including managing their meds. Once or twice a week we have to visit to make sure little packets of each combination of meds are made and labeled appropriately.
We call each day to give them a reminder to take their meds with no assurance that they really have taken them. We order their meds and manage side effects through email with their primary care provider as their healthcare proxy. We reorder meds through the mail order pharmacy.
My husband and I starting get more mid day calls at work regarding falls or other health issues requiring our timely attention or to leave work to take them to the doctor’s office. I often find myself compromised by the cell phone ring from the folks while sitting in important meetings at work. Do I take the call or not?
I thought the demands of balancing a career and motherhood had passed with my kids well into to their early 20’s. Now, my peers and I find ourselves on call all the time for our dependent parents 24 -7. We do their foot care, manage mail and fill their refrigerator for lunch and Sunday night meals not provided by the community.
We have ordered Auto Pills to help manage their meds and will begin a personal monitoring service to alert us of falls or if Mom needs medical attention and Dad is not around. Finding remote in home technology solutions to assist us with managing their health, providing longitudinal tracking of key biometrics and a meaningful alerts and notifications of significant changes are all on the radar to keep the folks in place as long as possible.