If you’re trying to help your senior as much as you can from far away, you know the frustration of being a long-distance caregiver. It’s not an easy situation to manage, but if you let the frustration lead you’re always going to feel as if you’re running behind and struggling to help your senior. Getting help is important, and that help can come from a variety of different sources to make life easier for you and your senior.
Stay Informed as Much as You Can
Information is the most important thing you have when you’re a long-distance family caregiver. You need to know what your senior’s challenges are and what she needs in order to offer her the most help that you can. That may mean developing relationships with your senior’s doctors and finding other solutions, too.
Consider 24-hour Home Care
One way you can start to get more information is to have Home Care Ashburn providers in place with your senior. Whether your elderly family member is at a point where she needs a lot of help or only a little, having eyes on the situation does a lot for you. 24-hour home care providers can help you to understand the situation as it is, and that’s important when you’re far away.
Talk with Your Senior about What She Feels Would Help
Don’t leave your senior out of these conversations, either. She can help you to understand what she needs and what she feels would be most helpful. It’s also helpful to make sure that you and your senior talk openly about the fact that you need honest information rather than what she feels you want to hear.
Be Proactive about Solving Issues
When you do suspect that there are issues somewhere in your senior’s care or situation, get proactive about solving them. Listen to your gut and put help in place quickly. That’s going to do a lot to resolve situations for your senior before they get too big and out of hand. When that happens, overwhelm can make everything worse for everyone involved.
It’s not easy to be a long-distance caregiver at all. You may want to be there more with your senior, but if that isn’t possible, you may be wrestling with guilt and other feelings too. Try to avoid being overwhelmed by what you can’t change and just do what you can in every given situation.
If you or an aging loved one is considering 24-hour homecare in South Riding, VA, please contact the caring staff at Assisting Hands today.