Plan Ahead in Caregiving

"The average caregiver will provide care for 4.6 years."  Leacey E. Brown, Gerontology Field Specialist

In our situation, we have surpassed the 4.6 years, and, perhaps you have too.  In many respects, we were prepared for the unthinkable:  life when we could no longer care for one or both of us at home.  We had advance directives in place, long term care insurance, and we had watched our spending habits in hopes of  providing for ourselves as we got older.  But, I had not imagined having a spouse who would be unable to see or accept what professionals told us was the reality of his needs:  that he needed the services of an assisted living facility.  Oddly, that has been the hardest part for me.  His resistance to what seems obvious and to what numerous professionals have said is necessary.  So, my suggestion, is to plan ahead for that contingency too.  Plan for when you may be making decisions affecting someone who wants his/her reality to be different from what it is.