7 Tips In Personal Adjusting To A Parent Or Family Illness Or Disability
By: Rosemarie Tamunday Casanova
When an illness or disability strikes, the individual and family need to make adjustments. These adjustments may be difficult depending on the previous and current individual or family’s physical, emotional, financial or spiritual experiences.
Some of the personal adjustments that may be necessary are immediate or maybe later.
It is important to be sensitive to the big adjustments that individuals will be making. There will be times when they need help in understanding the kind of adjustments they need to make and helping them find the resources available to help along the way.
Here are 7 Tips to personal adjusting in the event of a Parent or Family Illness or Disability
- There’s nothing more difficult than to care for an aging parent and care for young children. This is called the “Sandwich Generation” being “sandwiched” between two generations. Reach out for help. Please don't do it all alone.
- Understand the illness or disability through the knowledge or wealth of medical information available that can help you make health care decisions.
- Help your loved one accept the illness or disability including any long-term consequences. Recommend to attend support groups or counseling from professionals.
- Allocate resources or find other means to pay for medical expenses including in home senior care help
- Assist your loved one with other tasks they can no longer perform. Assuring them you will find other ways to do their tasks such as bookkeeping, sorting mails, housekeeping, etc.
- Help in dealing with health insurances benefits eligibility including Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Benefits or Long Term Care Insurance Benefits
- Employ home caregivers to assist with providing daily care as needed. Use a home health agency with proven track record that can assist with your loved one care. Licensed home care agencies can alleviate most of the challenges listed above and at times will be your best resource in personal adjusting to a family illness or disability.