Day 560 of Eldercare. 10 October 2013
With eldercare, it can be dangerous to lose yourself in the
chores at hand. It can be unhealthy to identify with the elder in your house so
much that you forget your own bodily requirements, your own place in the home, and your
own place in the world. And it sneaks up
on you. It was about day 150, in my first year of caring for Millie, when I
realized I had lost five pounds. That’s one pound a month. After I prepared and
served her special food, the cooking task seemed complete, so I didn’t prepare
a meal for myself. I think I (a little bit) blurred the fact that I was a separate person from
Millie. This is probably not considered normal.
The advisories given to caregivers are about exercise,
nutrition, mental health. Since I’m a “that will never happen to me” type of
person, I paid little attention to the articles and brochures that I saw.
And then BOOM! One day (about Day 507 of eldercare) I lost my will to live, and stayed
that way for a week, going through the motions, doing my chores, but not caring
about anything. I never considered that I had depression. It wasn’t until I saw
a post from a Twitter friend with depression that I realized I had a problem,
and that, possibly, it could be actually treated. The realization helped a LOT.
Thank you Twitter Friend! In a way, you saved my life.
[and after losing eight pounds, I gained it all back]
