caregivers
The Costs of Care Giving
As the Boomer population ages and the reality begins to loom that at some point they may need someone to provide them with “care giving” but no one wants to talk about this possibility happening to them.
But as we age and I’m going to be 72 myself ( Yikes, when did that happen?) our bodies are going to start to give us trouble as we begin our slide down the slope of aging and at some point, we may need help.
Ideally the Boomer generation has taken better care of themselves then our own parents did and we certainly are much more active than their generation who smoked, didn’t exercise and had high fat diets.
But at the least, they didn’t have as much stress in their lives as we seem to have in our’s and their generation lived a much slower daily pace compared to the hectic lifestyles so many of us have in this period of time.
Hopefully those of you who are reading this post and are of a “certain age”, will manage to dodge falling apart and having to rely on a care giver. But what happens if you need one and you don’t have Long-Term-Care Insurance?
Medicare will not pay for this service in case you were under the impression it would, you have to pay for it.
You will have to rely on your own retirement funds if you happen to have any and pay a professional care giver or rely on family members to take care of you. And that’s a terrible option.
There are two kinds of “costs” in this equation, the actual monthly expense that can run $4000 or more each month while you are helpless or the physiological and turmoil and burden to your family members who will be overwhelmed by the responsibly of taking care of you.
And if you don’t have enough funds to cover this expense, it will be up to your children to pay for it and in many family situations, the adult children will fight among one another and it typically will fall to one of the children to pay for all the expenses and also to attend to your needs. And the one’s who refuse to help in any capacity, will disappear.
As for paying for the care of a professional, licensed and Bonded care giver that expense could be paid by the funds from a reverse loan and it will become a safe and valuable option for money to cover the costs and relieve the adult children from using their own funds to pay for your care.
It’s something to think about, utilize one’s equity to pay for your own needs and not rely on your adult children and keep your dignity and keep your family intact.
Caregiving and Your Senior Parents
I never intended this site to be limited to the discussion of Reverse loans but also be a resource and platform that would allow others who specialize in the Senior market, to share valuable information, that otherwise may be difficult to locate.
And one difficulty for the adult children is that of their aging parents and how best to help them through this life process, treating them with respect and at the same time, maintaining their own sanity.
I will be posting the following article that has been provided by Viki Kind, MA, discussing this very issue. Because of the length of it, I will share it within three different posts over the course of the next seven days.
About the Author: Viki Kind, MA
Viki Kind is a clinical bioethicist, medical educator and hospice volunteer. She has lectured across the United States teaching healthcare professionals to have integrity, compassion and to improve end-of-life care through better communication.
Patients, families and healthcare professionals rely on Viki’s practical approach to dealing with challenging healthcare dilemmas. She has also been a caregiver for many years for four members of her family in the Los Angeles area.
http://thecaregiverspath.com
viki@kindethics.com
Part I
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This is an edited excerpt from “The Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making – Making Choices for Those Who Can’t,” pp. 107-110, by Viki Kind, MA, (2010, Greenleaf Book Group)
Savvy Caregiving —Getting the Support You Need
I was the caregiver for a number of family members for many, many years. Sometimes I could manage just fine. But at other times I felt overwhelmed and unappreciated. Even when I knew what to do, I was still exhausted and worried all the time. All I wanted to do was to crawl into bed and just sleep.
Even though I wanted to take care of the seniors in my life, sometimes it all became too much. I admire professionals who take care of those who are disabled, sick or dying every day. But I also know it comes at a cost to the person doing the caregiving. So, let’s talk about the signs of caregiver stress and then discuss ways you can ask for help. (Help is out there, even if it doesn’t come from your family.)