Note: In this series, we portray our customers using aliases to uphold their identities.
Getting Respite After Being The Sole Primary Caregiver for Dad with Dementia and Depression
This is Alia. She runs a business and at the same time cares for her father with dementia.
A couple of days a week, Alia would take off days from her business to cater to her father’s needs as well as accompany him to his hospital appointments. Balancing work and her caregiver role have limited Alia from receiving proper rest and this has affected her ability to focus on her work and mental health.
However, after engaging with Homage, Alia could relieve her role as the primary carer and allow Homage’s caregivers to assist Alia’s father in personal hygiene and keeping him company while Alia is away. She can now focus more on expanding her business with peace of mind.
A Little Background About Alia’s Father
Alia’s father is 89 years old and was previously a teacher and a headmaster. He was diagnosed with Dementia and was also going through depression due to the loss of his beloved wife who was his main carer. He consults a geriatric specialist on a quarterly basis and is prescribed an anti-depressant. Alia’s father appreciates art, loves music, and also simple gardening. However, he gets moody easily and prefers to nap most of the time.
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What our Homage Care Specialist Suggested
Based on a care assessment done together with Alia, we have identified a few services that she needed help with for her father.
- Companionship
- Keep him occupied during the day through conversations and activities so that he could sleep better at night.
- Observe his overall well-being and inform if there are any abnormalities.
- Encourage him to share his past work experiences, general knowledge, and current world events, reminisce about his childhood and listen to his favourite songs by Frank Sinatra, Abba dan The Carpenters.
- Personal Care & Hygiene
- Supervise him during shower and remind him to clean using soap
- Staying Active
- Conduct a simple range of motion exercises, stretches, gardening, and taking a brisk walk at the park
- Motivate him to participate in brain activities like painting, guess-the-music, simple math quizzes, journaling, reminder of the day/date/month/year, art recycling projects, untying difficult knots, and helps him to build new hobbies.
We focused on providing respite care for Alia and suggested that she adopt a 200 hours care plan which has a 60 days validity. This allows her to get an R&R from care 4 hours a day and on a daily basis.
Today, Alia and her father are on their 8th care plan and have also gotten her brother-in-law and aunty to engage with Homage in medical escort services.
Alia’s feedback
“My family and I are so grateful to the caregivers at Homage, especially Care Pro Emily. This is not just a job for her, she truly cares. My dad has depression from losing my mom and Emily takes great effort to cheer him up, encourages him to be active by doing daily exercises, and makes sure he eats even if feeding him is required (he has a poor appetite and in his state of depression he just wants to sleep all the time).
My dad has become so much more cheerful and positive since Emily’s care. Somehow, she has managed to reach into his heart, soul, and mind which is something none of us in the family was able to do no matter how hard we try. Homage gave him the will to move on and give me respite care and peace of mind.”
Getting Respite Care with Homage
Asking for help takes you one step forward to caring for yourself. If you resonate with Alia and need support in taking care of your loved ones so that you could get a breather and focus on other aspects of your life, look no further.
Whether on a short or long-term basis, we are ready to stand in the gap and offer holistic care options including personal care, nursing services, or rehabilitation therapy, starting from one hour to round-the-clock care 24/7, at your own convenience.
Get in touch with our Care Advisor today for a free consultation by filling up the details below and let us start taking care of you.
