“Care Giving” has become a more familiar term for many Adults over the age of 50. Because our parents are living longer, many Adults are now faced with caring for their Dads, Moms, and Spouses.
I saw this first hand when my mother took on the responsibility of caring for my ailing father. His health was deteriorating due to the metastization of his Prostate cancer. Many Care Givers are determined to keep their love ones at home. Keeping my father at home was the only way for my Mom. The psychological/emotional benefit was tremendous for both my Mom and Dad. The familiarity and companionship made it easier for my dad to enjoy the remaining time he had.
My Mom was the true Care Giver throughout my dad’s ailment. She lived through every minute, every hour until my dad passed. Seeing my father deteriorate was an excruciatingly difficult experience. To mom, it often felt like there was no escaping from the pain my father was experiencing. But then there would be those bright spots in my father’s day, a brief glimpse of the joy in life that my parents had experienced for so many years together, 40 years in fact.
My mom’s experience is just one example of how difficult and challenging it can be when you’re a Care Giver. There are often feelings of guilt, remorse and loneliness because you want to do the best you can for your loved ones. However, there are some bright spots in for them. More resources and support groups are popping up compared to previous years. The internet and “Connected Health” industries provide more tools for Care Givers to manage their daunting responsibilities. Facebook support groups have become very prolific as more Americans find themselves thrust into this role. Senior centric organizations have created more awareness by creating a National Care Giving month in November.
Care Giving has become a bigger priority for many new tech companies. Seeing the future of “connected health,” several companies are offering easy to use products that enable Care Givers to manage their responsibilities. mPERS (Mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems) is an emergency alert device that allows them to monitor their loved ones. These devices provide fall detection, wander detection and two-way communication between Emergency professionals and the device owners and Care Givers. These systems provide an Emergency connection so that they can feel rest assured their loved ones are constantly being monitored.
As our society ages and the population lives longer, many of us are finding ourselves stepping into that Care Giver role. It’s reassuring to know that technology will be there to help with this important responsibility.
