If you’re providing caregiving for your elderly parent from a long distance, or even from across town, it can be hard sometimes to know how they are managing day-to-day activities. Forgetting occasional things and some memory loss is normal, but when it gets to the point that it interferes with her quality of life, you might need to start looking for additional helpful resources, such as a companion care at home team, to help her continue to live independently.
But how do you know if it’s just irritating forgetfulness or if it is a consistent struggle with tasks and chores? The next time you visit your loved one or if you already have a companion care at home team, you can ask them to do this, check on the following four areas to see if your loved one’s forgetfulness could use some help.
Check her fridge
When forgetfulness becomes dangerous and looks as though it might be leading to dementia, the person struggling with it will often have a refrigerator or cupboards that reflects that. Look for food that is overly expired or even molding or rotting in the fridge. You can also look for quantities. Are there four bottles of ketchup but no milk or whatever your parent likes to drink? Is the fridge or cupboards completely disorganized with food items in the wrong place? These not only may be signs of dementia but can also present health hazards.
Check her vehicle
If your loved one is still driving, give her vehicle a good looking over the next time you visit. Are there dings and scrapes she can’t explain? She might be struggling with parking or turning and not remembering it. Also, if she’s always been good with maintaining her vehicle, look to see if that pattern still holds true. Oil changes and routine maintenance should be up to date.
Check her bills
Ask your loved one to see her bills. You’ll want to make sure she’s keeping on top of paying her electric bill, insurance, and other monthly bills. If she’ll allow you, also check her bank account if she has a lot of automatic withdrawals to ensure she’s had enough money in her account each month to pay those recurring bills and is not getting hit with overdraft fees each month.
You or her Companion Care at Home Aide can Check her hygiene
How does your loved one look? Has she lost a lot of weight? Is she keeping up with clean hair, fresh breath, and daily self-care routines? Is she taking her medications as needed? If she isn’t, it could be forgetfulness or it could be that she needs assistance. You might need to add safety bars to the tub or have someone like a companion care at home provider come weekly to help with her hair.
Sometimes a little help is all someone needs to keep living independently and that’s when you can find a companion care at home team that can really help. They’re there to fill in the gaps when you can’t be there.