I didn't have anyone to help me, but I;m lucky I didn't get sick. I DID have to fight the hell out of the pain that almost never left for the last year of taking care of Mom. Luckily I had help with her bathing with an aide coming in, but I still had to help her around quite a bit.
The roughest part for me was maintaining proper mental health. The pain was just the norm for me. I had shut down the business with my partner in Phoenix. It was stupid fast-paced and it was quite the change when I became Mom's full-time caregiver.
I had one 'break' in a little over 4 years. Not really break for relaxing, either. I had a guy in Scottsdale that only used me for his car care appearance of his car collection. He really wouldn't take no for an answer. Not only did he pay for someone to stay with Mom while I was gone, he had one of his employees fly out and pick me up at the air park just down the road from my farm. He hired two guys to help me. We fully detailed and protected 8 of his cars in 6 days. LOL! He even paid the nurse for two days after I came back, so I could recover, his idea from the beginning. The shortest day was like 14 hrs of non-stop humping ass. Never had to want for food while there! His chef was VERY attentive and I think I gained 5lbs while there! While not a physical break for sure, it was a pretty good mental break.
While physical health of the caregiver is very important, I think the mental health is far more important and the most ignored by the caregiver.
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