What does ‘quality of life’ mean when it comes to your aging mother? After all, she’s facing some serious health issues. You’re more concerned about her recovery or helping to ensure she’s safe right now. The last thing most family caregivers consider is quality of life for the person they support.
Don’t underestimate just how vital quality of life can be for someone of advancing years. Just because your mother needs support at the moment doesn’t mean she has to merely exist or survive.
What does your mother want to do?
You may or may not know the answer to that question right away, but even if you think you know, it’s a good idea to ask her directly. You may know your mother better than anyone else in the world right now, but when you are most concerned about her health and safety, a lot of things can easily be overlooked.
This doesn’t mean you are not an adequate or even exceptional caregiver. It simply means that family and friends often put safety as their top priority when supporting an aging loved one.
That is definitely noble and important, but what you may not realize is that there are many things your mother would wish to still do, if she was only given the opportunity.
Let’s look at an example.
Caregiver Woodbury, NY: Quality of Life
A simple example of this type of situation would be when your mother enjoys walking at the local park. Maybe when your father was still alive, they did this together every day. They would go to the park, bring along some birdseed to feed the birds and sit and enjoy the time and nice weather together, and then stroll along the grounds where it was safe.
In the last few years, though, perhaps your mother hasn’t done that at all. Maybe since your father passed or his health has been in decline, they haven’t had the opportunity to get to the park. Maybe neither one of them drives any longer and depends on you or somebody else to bring them to the store or a doctor’s appointment.
Whatever has led to this change in situation, you might assume your mother doesn’t really want to go to the park because, basically, you think it is not safe enough. Well, is this something she would do on her own?
Probably not, especially with compromised physical abilities, but that’s where quality of life becomes so important.
What if you don’t have time to help her pursue her interests?
That’s where you need to look into home care. A qualified, experienced in-home care aide can help your mother when you aren’t available or even with things she still wants to enjoy, but you are unable to help her with at this time.
Quality of life is still important, even for those who are dealing with serious health issues, physical injuries, limitations, and more. The best way to find out what would help improve your mother’s quality of life is to sit down and ask her directly. You may be surprised by some of the answers she gives.