Taking care of your senior loved ones is always not easy. But when it comes to caring for a terminally ill and dying elderly at home, it’s a different story. Taking care of a terminal phase senior can be upsetting and emotionally draining, especially if they are very special to you. While taking care of them, you can’t help but question yourself about the right things to say or comfort them in their dying times. After all, caring for them means helping them live their last days happily and comfortably. It’s one of the most meaningful things you can do for them.
There may be no single formula to follow in terms of caring for a dying senior. But there are ways you can take to ensure you give them the care, support, and help they need while acknowledging their last days, besides considering CDPAP NYC – that enable you to manage your own home care, including selecting your own paid caregiver. For your guide, here are six tips for caring for a terminally ill senior at home.
- Avoid Asking Them How You Can Help
Most often, your first instinct would be; to directly ask them how you can help. However, doing this may only stress them out or add burdens to their minds if they feel uncomfortable asking for aid. Instead of asking, it’s best if you anticipate your ways on how you can help them. It can be as simple as making their meals, cleaning their bedroom, or preparing their medicines. If you are busy, you can find alternative ways to provide assistance, such as engaging the services of a firm that offers short term senior care. They’ll greatly appreciate your initiative.
Another help you can initiate is hiring an in-home caregiver for them. There’ll inevitably be days wherein you’ll be busy with your own needs and responsibilities. So, while you’re not around, your hired in-home caregiver will be the one to assist on your behalf. If you’re from the United States, you can check out Orlando Senior Helpers and other senior care agencies, that can provide personalized in-home care for your ill senior loved one.
- Don’t Make Them Talk About Their Sickness
Before lying on their bed, your senior loved one already talked to numerous doctors about their sickness and treatment options. And so, the last thing they need is to constantly be reminded about their sickness and their upcoming dying day. They also wouldn’t want to feel less ‘normal’ and be treated differently around people just because of their illness. To keep a positive attitude and atmosphere around them, avoid initiating talks and conversations about their sickness. The only right time you can talk to them about it is if they start the conversation first. Most importantly, treat them as living people, not dying ones.
- Give Them Something To Look Forward To Everyday
Instead of talking about death and dying, give them something to look forward to and enjoy in the present day. You can help center their focus on immediate joys and gratifications in life. It can be as simple as reading another book chapter together, scheduling your visit on the next day, or putting them in a wheelchair. Also, take them for a short walk in the afternoon. If they don’t have any food restrictions, you can plan together about eating something nice for lunch or dinner.
- Keep Them Comfortable As Possible
Their optimal comfort should also be one of the things you must prioritize. If they can’t communicate the things that comfort them, you can ask the doctor for some recommendations. It may be supplying the correct pain relievers and medication, keeping the room temperature warm, bringing extra pillows, or making their bedroom more homely. You can also keep them comfortable by showing them love in unique ways like pasting cards nearby or playing their favorite music if they wish to hear them.
- Help Them With Their Hygienic Needs
Everyone knows how it feels nice and refreshing to have a bath or shower. The same feeling goes for your senior loved ones. You can plan together with your senior loved ones about scheduling their baths or wiping their bodies with warm water. If the task seems complicated for you, you can let the in-home caregiver do the job for you.
- Make Them Feel At Home
Despite being cared for in the comfort of their home, sometimes, they can’t help but feel like they’re far from home if constantly surrounded by caregivers and other unfamiliar faces that will only remind them of death. If you’re planning to leave for a while to run an errand or complete other tasks, make sure you don’t leave them too long with the caregiver. Make sure there’s one family member left in their room, and you can do this by taking shifts. Make them feel at home by constantly having the presence of family and loved ones around, and not just caregivers. By this, you can make them feel like they’re still part of the family and at home.
Endnote
Taking care of a senior loved one during their last days will be one of the most trying experiences you may need to face. But the thing is, life is a journey, and eventually, it will end. But just because that’s how it is, doesn’t mean you should make them feel like it is what it is. With these tips, you can make them feel optimistic and happy about life and be grateful for their senior years, which not all people get to experience.
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