Do you have a backup plan?

Kari

Do you have a backup card plan for your loved one if you are ill or otherwise unable to care for them for a period of time?

My dad is the primary caregiver for my mom. Earlier this week, he was sick for a couple days and my sisters and I took turns stopping over to help out. But, we all work and are somewhat limited on when we are available to stop over. And, my mom isn’t connecting to her new in-home caregiver and is asking her to leave.

Twyla

Now that you mentioned that it is something to think about. We have two daughters and my husband has sisters that help out mostly on the weekends or after they get off work. He has an in home aide five days a week Monday-Friday. Sometimes our son in law will help out because he goes to work in the afternoon. This is something I need to look into in case of emergencies. I will talk to our children and see what they think. Thank you

dvellio

I’m 82 and I have given a lot of thought to a backup plan. I realized almost a year ago that if something happened to me like a car accident or some sudden illness it was entirely possible that no one would know my wife was lying here for two or three days. I began the process of developing a serious backup plan.
I ask one of my sons-in-law to be the executor of my will and gave him power of attorney both medical and general in case I could no longer fill my role. Also made sure that he has access to all of our financial accounts.
As a financial officer for our local church congregation I have known more than one family who had a spouse die without having done any of the necessary paperwork. It makes it much more difficult for the surviving spouse if those steps haven't been taken.
Also found a free app for my phone that works on both Android and iPhones called Snug. I don't need it so much now that I have a caregiver who's here 8 hours a day, but when I was the sole caregiver, it would have come in real handy. What Snug does is it allows you to set a check in time and if you don't check in by that time it will alert people you have chosen to put on your contact list so they can check on you and make sure you're OK. I've even tested it and it seems to work as advertised. I've actually come to believe that anyone who lives alone or with someone who's compromised should have this or some other way to alert people if something happens to you.
I now have people who can be here in 20 or 30 minutes anytime of the day if something were to happen to me. It makes me much more comfortable with what happen in that event.

sjcamp

Our current plan is I am the caregiver, full-time. We have a son, 22 who lives with us but has some learning challenges from his childhood speech apraxia diagnosis. He's 22 but more similar to a teenager right now. He can care for his Dad but not always with a gracious heart. Our 25-year-old son and wife live 10 minutes away. He's super willing but we feel guilty asking him because he has his own life and plans..and to be honest, there is no reason the 22 year can't help except the 22nd-year-old has an attitude right now...again.. similar to a teenager. It's hard to ask children to help because they want to pretend everything is ok. This post is encouraging me to look for a back up plan when I have time and space in my head to do that.

sjcamp

dshikoski

My backup plan is my sister who is very close to my wife (she also lives less than a mile away). She is also retired so it should work out well whenever the need is there.

wally65

Not much of backup plan in place, I should be nervous about that right? 😉

MoniqueFrahm

I strongly encourage everyone to check out the Emergency Planning Workbook that Trualta offers. It's really relevant to this discussion and so helpful! If you go to your Trualta portal and search "Emergency Planning Workbook" you can find it! Let me know what you think!

MooreCGA67

That is my worry, I do not have a backup plan. My husband has 9 adult children and not one of them has been to see him in the facility, but 5 of them have been to NC, at least once, in 18 years.