This Shabbat marks a big transition for one of the elderly gentlemen from my Sephardic synagogue. After three months in a skilled nursing facility following a bad fall, he’s being discharged, not because he’s truly ready, but because Medicare will no longer be paying. I’ve been there almost daily ever since he was rushed to the hospital, and then I loaded him up into the ambulance when they transferred him to the nursing facility three months ago, so I’m already familiar with his baseline needs.
I’ll be staying with him at his home for a week, until his daughter (who lives several states away) can arrange longer-term care. I’m the youngest at our shul who still speaks the French and Arabic of our elders, and over these past eighteen months they’ve embraced me like I’m their own child. During the hardest parts of my divorce last year, they were the ones who carried me through with love, prayers, and care. To now care for one of them in his time of need feels less like a burden and more like a true honor. I’ve had an autoimmune condition since my own childhood, and which affected my own mobility over the years and included a year confined to a wheelchair and years on chemotherapy when I was younger, so I already have familiarity with the medical aspect of things, but would love any insight from those who’ve provided in-home care to elders or loved ones.
For those of you who have walked this road of caring for parents, grandparents, or community elders:
- What should I be ready for during initial days?
- What helped you most?
- What do you wish someone had told you?
Thank you in advance for any insight, guidance, or recommendations.
submitted by /u/disjointed_chameleon
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Source: Reditt
