It marvels me when at one point you're being taken care of and the next moment before you realize it, you become the one who is taking care of someone and you need to come to the conclusion that life really happens.
Taking care of an aged person has put me on the rollercoaster of emotions a thousand and one times. I've laughed, cried, gotten very angry, worried to death, wished for my non-existence and most at times I've just stared into space and thought really long and hard
My grandmother happened to be the first aged person I experienced taking care of. she wasn't sick or paralyzed or hospitalized. Her health just needed constant monitoring.
I laughed long and hard when she was petty about a lot of things. she wanted to have whatever the other person was having without considering if it was really okay for her to take that. I recall one moment when her friend came over and my mum got her some tonics, my grandma literally said she wanted that cause she realized hers wasn't helping her. she made me happy when she will be on her way to the market and would dress her very best, stop by the mirror like a teenager all over again to admire herself. she loved beauty. she made sure we weren't sharing her bed space with her.
Other times, the days where she got me really vexed, she complained about a lot of things especially the ones which were very beneficial to her. she'd refuse taking her medications, complain while she was showering, scream at night while the neighborhood was asleep, even as far as depriving others of sleep just to get what she really wanted. Those days were the worst.
we overcame her tantrums by making sure we made her stay happy. we made her talk about her happiest moments as a child, teenager, her love life, her life as a young mother. she loved hearing from her son so we made sure a call was placed across everyday so she could speak with him. She loved cooking too so we provided her with money and necessities so she could cook what she wanted while we paid attention to make sure it was beneficial. And a whole lot of times it was better not to pay attention to the things she said so as not to get angry. That's how we lived by till she passed on.
However, while my grandma was quite agile for an aged person, my dad wasn't.
My dad isn't too old of a person, just a man approaching the life of the aged. I recall my dad to be someone who wouldn't stay quiet when a bad thing happened, who loved singing when he was happy, who talked a lot about his childhood, his life as a university student, his travels to a lot of countries, his work life. He loved talking about the government and was up-to-date on the reports of the day by watching the television and listening to his radio.
When the aged crisis came, he became a different person entirely, someone I couldn't quite cope with. He stopped making the side comments about things he'd normally do. Getting him to talk about his favorite experiences were harder. He had to be forced to do everything if you really wanted him to do so which is in every manner very exhausting. We watched his three meals a day, made sure he has showered, taken his supplements. He stopped taking his daily strolls and really loved staying inside.
it got I and my siblings really worried.
His usual laughter, teasing, authoritative personality, and the stories were gone.
it became an exhausting thing to do.
moreover, how we keep our minds afloat is by staying happy, no nagging, telling him stories that'll trigger his happiness and makes him recounts his.
We watch him slowly and just make sure he is in his best form.We also invite his friends over to spend a whole lot of time with him. it makes him really happy and it keeps him up.
We overcame this by God's grace, staying patient and being understanding about the crisis of the aged.
Thanks for taking out the time to read🥰
Byee😍😍