The holiday season may still seem like a distant event, but it’s coming on us fast. Now is the time people start making plans for travel, vacations, and to visit with loved ones. You might be a primary family caregiver, looking after your elderly mother or father, but you’d like to get away this holiday season.
Unfortunately, travel doesn’t seem reasonable, at least not for them. What does that mean? Does it mean you won’t be able to go away? Does it mean you’re going to spend another year stressed out, overwhelmed, and wondering what else you could possibly do to make a positive impact in your parent’s life?
It doesn’t mean that, not when you understand some quality assisted living communities do offer respite care options for family members and seniors. No, that doesn’t mean you can go to an assisted living facility and spend a few weeks there yourself. It means that your loved one, your elderly mother or father, can spend several days, a week, and maybe even two or three weeks under the watchful care of experienced individuals while you get away, refresh, and recharge.
Do all assisted living facilities offer respite care?
No. Not all of them can and not all of them do. Some may offer respite care, but they may not have the capacity to provide it when you need it most. That’s why now is the time to begin looking at respite care options for you and your aging loved one for this holiday season.
The longer people wait to look into elder care, especially during the holidays, the harder it may be to find availability. That’s because people like you are also struggling while supporting an aging parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, friend, neighbor, and they heard about respite care options at a local assisted living facility. They began making arrangements already.
What would be ideal in your situation?
Obviously, this is something you need to discuss with your aging parent. He or she still has the right to decide what type of elder care they rely on. Most people, when they realize that staying in an assisted living facility is only going to be temporary, become more open to the idea.
Some facilities invite seniors to come and spend the night with them. That means you could drop your aging mother off in the evening and pick her up the next morning. That doesn’t sound ideal for a vacation or holiday getaway, but it could help if she needs support more often during the night when you’re home tending to your own family.
Your mother might have the wrong idea about assisted living and relying on respite care for a few days a week, a week straight, maybe even two or three weeks at a time will help her see from the inside what it offers. The fellowship she can have with other seniors her own age and the benefits she can gain from the activities they provide.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering Assisted Living in Swansea, IL, or surrounding areas, please contact the caring staff at Knollwood Retirement Community today at (618) 226-5755
Offering seniors age 65 and older a wealth of amenities to retain as much independence as they are able, with support, in a home-like environment in our supportive living community.
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