Home Care in Raleigh NC

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease. This means that your parent will experience increased and intensified symptoms over time, eventually culminating in death. The late stage of the disease is the point at which the symptoms that your parent experiences will become the most extensive and demanding, and the amount of care that you will need to get them reaches its peak. During this phase your parent will no longer be capable of living independently and will need help 24 hours a day. This will be a challenging time that will require a tremendous amount of effort, patience, and dedication.

Some of the challenges that your aging parent is likely to face during the late stage of Alzheimer’s disease include:

Inability to manage personal care tasks such as bathing, eating, grooming, dressing, and toileting
Loss of awareness of what is going on around them
Loss of awareness of recent experiences, such as seeming surprised by your presence several times in the course of the same visit
Major changes in physical abilities, such as walking, sitting and standing, and transferring, requiring extensive assistance to prevent injury
Developing inability to swallow, which might lead to malnutrition and the need to change their diet to address their needs
Increased difficulty with communication which might eventually result in the complete inability to speak and the inability to interpret or understand what is said to them
Increased vulnerability to infections and illnesses, such as pneumonia, which dramatically increases the risk of severe health complications that can hasten death

No matter what stage of Alzheimer’s disease your elderly loved one is currently facing, elder care can be exceptionally beneficial for you. An elderly home care services provider can be with your aging parent on a customized schedule designed to address their individual needs, challenges, limitations, and symptoms, while also respecting their personality and lifestyle goals. This means that they will be able to help your parent manage the symptoms and changes that they are currently dealing with as well as prepare them for the changes that might occur later in the progression of the disease. During the late stage of Alzheimer’s disease, your elderly loved one’s care needs will have progressed to a point at which you are no longer able to manage them on your own while remaining safe, healthy, and well for yourself. This makes the highly personalized services of an elderly home care services provider even more valuable. By knowing that your parent is getting all of the care, support, and assistance that they need, you are able to take a step back. This lets you continue to take care of yourself, complete the other obligations and tasks in your life, and focus your energy and efforts more efficiently on the tasks that you do complete for your elderly parent. This care also helps to reduce the high levels of caregiver stress that are common during the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Easing this stress protects your mental and emotional health while also helping you to focus on the next chapter in your life as you approach the end of your caregiver relationship.