In 2021, my sister and I made our mother go see a doctor. She always refused to go, but we knew she had health problems. She was a heavy smoker and ate terribly — fatty, salty, sugary foods. He sent her straight to the ER.
She was in for two weeks — had a heart attack, needed a stent, diagnosed with COPD, CHF, high blood pressure,anemia, thyroid problems, gastritis. I figured once she recuperated, she would go back to mostly taking care of herself since she was always independent. Wrong. She basically became a shut-in and I became her caregiver.
I felt bad that she couldn't go anywhere, but she was on oxygen 24/7 and she had some trouble walking. I needed help getting her to the car; I couldn't do it myself. I have one sister, but she helped rarely. She would come to help take her to doctors appointments, so that's basically the only time she left the house.
I became depressed. I felt isolated, helpless, lots of negative emotions. Then in 2023, my boyfriend of 7 years decided to move 4 states away. Apparently I wasn't giving him enough time and attention. I felt much worse now. I felt really all alone and burnt out. I got counseling, but it never made me feel any better. I know my personality has changed; I have zero patience, I get angry quickly, I lose my temper easily.
My mom never listens to the doctors or to me. Taking care of her feels like I'm trying to fill a bucket and she keeps putting holes in it. She's supposed to watch her salt, elevate her legs, walk around. She does none of these things. I never give her salt, yet I found she had a salt shaker hidden. She definitely had to quit smoking, but I found a pack of cigarettes. You get the picture. So when I find things like that or if I'm stressed or overwhelmed or tired, sometimes I can't control my temper and I blow up at her. Then I feel guilty and beat myself up.
I have to do it all — work, take care of her and the animals, do all the housework, pay all the bills, etc. I don't have much free time. I feel guilty for not spending quality time with her but sometimes I just need an hour to decompress.
Currently she is in the hospital because she's filled up with fluid again. But she seems to be declining mentally and seems to be giving up. My question is, did I contribute to or cause her to decline because I yelled at her, didn't spend enough time with her, or perhaps made her feel unwanted? When I lose my temper, sometimes I say I don't want to be a caregiver anymore or things to that effect. Then I feel bad. Caregiving is not for me though. Yet I don't want to put her in a home.
Any advice is welcomed. Thank you.
Your mother's unhealthy lifestyle and asinine stubbornness is what paved the way for the condition she's in now.
Did you make her to smoke?
Did you make her to eat bad?
Did you make her to remain on her backside and not walk around or exercize like she was supposed to?
Did you make her to become a shut-in?
The answer to these questions is a hard NO. You didn't do anything wrong. Is it your fault that you're like the other 99% of the population who has to earn a living? Too bad that you can't sit with your mother every day entertaining her so she doesn't get bored. You do enough for her and she should probably be in assisted living now or get a paid caregiver.
Your mother and my mother sound very alike. I was an in-home caregiver for 25 years and now am in the business end of it. I was a care slave to my mother for some time too, and then I just had to stop. My patience level with the elderly even though I have years of experience is zero. It is negative zero with my own mother and her games. So I get it. I totally get where you're coming from because I've been there. My mother was given a choice. Either make it work with homecare or it's a nursing home. She's making it work with homecare.
You have to lay down the law with your mother and that law is paid help is coming in because you can't do it all anymore.
If she's just 'giving up' the only person who makes that decision is her. Don't let her weaponize her neediness as a way to manipulate you back into being her care-slave.
I learned some very valuable things being a caregiver for so many years. One of them is that any level of independence must be preserved. If a person can do anything for themselves, they must be forced to. Even if it's easier for you to do it. NEVER baby an adult or cater to fussiness. That doesn't do anyone any favors. All that does is strip a person of whatever small level of independence they still have.
Good luck to you and please for your sake bring in outside help for your mother or put her in AL. If she fights you on it, give her the same choice my mother was given. You are no longer the care option.
You got some horrible advice from the others, and mine is probably be horrible as well. Here goes…
First, stand quietly in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eye, and give yourself the gift of forgiveness. Forgive yourself for everything you feel you've done bad, wrong or against your mother's wishes. All you did was what you thought was the right thing to do.
Then, while you're still standing in front of the mirror, acknowledge yourself for all the love, time, work, effort, caring and sacrifice you've endured. You may not want to be a caregiver, but you are a hero - bordering on saint - even if it doesn't feel that way.
Next, it's not too late to have the conversation with your mother that I believe all children should have with their parents. “Mom, are you quality of life or quantity of life?” (We probably already know her answer), and then, “What does that look like?”
For my mother, it was Lou Milnati's (Chicago style) pizza every week and a pack of Newports every day. She wanted her celebration of life party before she died, and she wanted to fight as long as possible. She wasn't giving up on life, and she wasn't giving up on living. She died knowing she was loved, acknowledged, respected and cared for. What more could a person ask for? For everyone who loved her, we felt grief but not regret.
You didn't say how old your mother is or what her life expectancy is, but regardless, when she comes home from the hospital, help her be a “quality of life gal," regardless of what that looks like. Instead of being miserable as her caregiver, you might find a new level of joy and happiness for yourself as her companion.
Best wishes to you and mom!
(Can't wait to hear what the naysayers say...)
The fact is that your mother has CHF. She likely would have developed his at end of life no matter cupcakes, and perhaps even cigarettes. We have hearts. They are merely pumps. And when the pump fails it cannot clear the fluids that need clearing.
You haven't told us how old Mom is, but the fact is that she is dying and has a failing pump that cannot be cured. It can only be treated. As you observe, she didn't work hard to keep her body well. ARE YOU? She has underlying conditions that complicate things and she is exhausted with it now.
Without your loving care (yes, those who love one another OFTEN are capable of yelling at one another in frustration) she likely would already be dead. She is struggling along now.
This is the time to speak with mom. Ask her if she is exhausted with the fight and if she would like Hospice and "the good medications". Ask the doctor if now is the appropriate time. Interview Hospice with your mother. Discuss this now with Social workers where Mom is a patient.
I am sorry for your grief, but no matter you jump on a parent's burning funeral pyre, you cannot in the end save them. And as to yelling? It's a kind of hubris to expect yourself to have godlike or saintlike calm, isn't it? You aren't God and aren't a Saint. You are a flawed human being, just like me. Just like all of us. Guilt means you CAUSED something. You didn't. And you can't fix it. So guilt is out of the question. You are now steeped in grief, and pain, and loss. Your mother's loss and your OWN, and you have a right to mourn all those losses. So stick with the "other g-word", grief.
I am so sorry for all the pain.
I think others have offered wise counsel, and it's good to consider your options. It is reasonable if you don't feel like you have the capacity to do anything other than lace up your shoes. I know I had days like that. Making big decisions felt like another thing I didn't have the energy to do. Give yourself some grace.
I will say a prayer for you and your mom. God bless both of you has you face this difficult season together.
Second: Refuse to take her home from the hospital. State that it is an unsafe discharge. UNSAFE DISCHARGE. They will find her a placement with professional caregivers..
Third: A "home" is not the horrible awful smelly rundown "home" of yore. Go look at some facilities. They provide 24/7 care with a team of professional caregivers, rather than an exhausted daughter like you are (because of what your mother has forced on you). They can provide better care for her than you can. You would be doing mom a favor by finding a place where she may thrive, which she isn't doing now.
This is not meant to be a putdown of you! You did the best you could. It's your mother who has ruined both your lives, and you can reclaim it with these magic words: (Remember?) UNSAFE DISCHARGE.
It's heartbreaking that after all you have done and given up for this woman that you feel you now need to take on the guilt of her decline.
And for that yes, you need a new therapist that will help you through this and actually make you feel better not worse.
But for now, tell the hospital social worker and moms doctors that your mom can no longer come home as she is an "unsafe discharge" and that you can no longer care for her as it is taking too much of a toll on your mental health.
Keep telling them that she is an "unsafe discharge" and DO NOT listen to the lies that they will tell you about they can do to help you if you take her back home, but insist that they now get her placed in the appropriate facility. And then they will have to do just that.
And once your mom is placed you can get back to being her child and advocate and not her overwhelmed, angry and burned out caregiver, because don't forget...you matter too in this situation.
I think it’s time you tell the social worker at the hospital that you are mentally not in a good place to take care of your mother . I think Mom needs to be placed in an assisted living or SNF , whichever level of care she needs .
Ypu need to speak to a therapist . Your mother ruined her own health and that is ruining your life . You’ve given up too much. You say Mom is declining . This will only get worse if you remain living with her . Caregiving is not for everyone , and/or they get burnt out .
It’s time for you to get your life back .
She's responsible for her own decline. She did the opposite of what she was suppose to do.
You need to speak to a professional to gain some perspective. Perhaps talk to the hospital social worker about this situation. You say you don't want to put her in a facility but at least get some help in so that you have some time to yourself. You are in a bad place.
Hang in.