Dee C.

I've worked for various elderly ladies, now deceased or extremely demented, including my mother, her friends and my very physically challenged aunt. My mother's situation alone was extremely unusual and challenging as she lost all independent functioning within the course of a month and suffered severe emotional trauma along with this. Knowing the best geriatric psychiatrists, we got her functioning very smoothly and beautifully actually. I also learned many of the best geriatric services available locally during the year I cared for my mother. Next I cared for her older never-married female twin friends, one bedridden with Alzheimer's disease who was so beautifully cared for at home that hospice staff could hardly believe it by the time they became involved. Employee, friend and POA of the other twin, I understood that twins usually die within 6 months of each other. My aunt with COPD also became chronically ill and asked me to help her live her final days at home. I still find it very rewarding to have helped three elderly ladies live their last days how they wanted as much as was realistically possible. I was an excellent friend, family member support and advocate for all of them. And in just 4 years, I learned all phases of elderly caregiving which not everyone does to say the least. (For some reason, I typically excel and go way beyond what most people do or think of.)