You Think Home Care Services is Necessary, Dad Says Otherwise: What to Do?

Home Care Services in Turnersville, NJ – Respecting Your Senior Loved One’s Wishes is Most Important at this Stage

You keep telling your father that you’re worried about him living at home alone and he keeps telling you that he’s fine. It’s been the same conversation for at least a year since his wife of ten years passed away but you are beginning to believe that he really needs some type of home care services.

You go to visit him whenever you can, but your time is limited, especially with a new assignment at work starting, more responsibilities, and more demands on your time. The last time you stopped by the check on him you noticed that he was struggling to get down the stairs. He had a firm grip on the railing and took the steps slowly and carefully. You watched his facial expressions of sheer concentration and thoughts of a stroke or worse popped into your mind.

Yet you know that this particular problem could be solved simply by adding a stair lift in for him. That’s not the only thing that caused you concern. He had a slightly sallow appearance on his skin. It wasn’t jaundiced as far as you knew and you began to ask questions. You found out that he was struggling to take a shower and ended up taking a ‘bird bath’ as he called it most days. He would wash himself in the sink as best he could.

On top of all that, you noticed that he had lost about 10 pounds during the past few months. That was too much for a guy turning 79 and who already weighed in at a whopping 140 pounds at six-feet tall.

You tried to find out why he wouldn’t even consider the notion of hiring home care services to help out, but he wouldn’t say anything more than, “I don’t need some stranger coming into my home to help me do things I can do just fine on my own.”

That should have settled it, but you keep expecting the phone to ring and it to be the hospital, or worse. There’s little that you can do right now about it. You can, however, find out as much information about home care services and the things that they can offer your father. Find out if there are activities that he used to enjoy that he can’t do anymore. He may be interested in home care services when he learns that he might still be able to do those things, with a bit of help.

No matter what, you do need to respect his wishes. He’s lived a long time and has earned that level of respect.