At What Point Should Your Family Consider Memory Care Assisted Living?
In life, some things just make sense. They’re easy. It’s simple to realize what a variety of things must be done. That’s not always the case, though. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you just don’t know what you should do. That might be how it feels if somebody you care about — an aging parent, spouse, grandparent, or even your brother or sister — has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. Memory loss can be significant. It will likely increase as time progresses. Have you thought about professional memory care services?
You might be taking care of this individual for months, maybe even years, and wonder how much more you can take. It feels as though it is never going to end, and you don’t want to feel guilty by ‘handing them off to somebody else.’
You might’ve heard about memory care assisted living in a professional environment. Maybe you haven’t. Now, though, it’s time to consider it. If you’re looking for an answer about when you should start thinking about memory care assisted living, now is that moment.
What is memory care assisted living?
It is an elder care service that is specifically designed for seniors who are dealing with some type of memory-related challenge. It doesn’t have to be due to Alzheimer’s or dementia, though. It could be the result of a traumatic brain injury, surgery, stroke, or other medical condition.
If somebody is struggling with their memory due to age, illness, injury, or disease, maintaining daily life as it once was is going to be almost impossible. They might be able to live on their own, but will usually need some level of support along the way.
Memory care assisted living allows aging men and women the option of staying in a friendly, safe environment surrounded by experienced staff members who are specifically trained to support those with memory challenges.
Okay, so when do you talk about their care?
As soon as possible. If the senior in your life has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, for example, start talking about the future now. Sure, they might very well be able to tend to their own basic needs with only minimal reminders right now, but that’s going to change. It’s not a matter of if, but when.
Eventually, a person with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia is going to experience increasing memory loss. That can lead to confusion and frustration. That can cause physical and verbal outbursts. That can also put them in very real potential harm.
How? Imagine the senior is living alone, goes to make something for lunch, turns on one of the stove burners, maybe puts some soup on, walks away, and completely forgets all about it. Does that mean a fire is going to erupt? Not necessarily, but the risk certainly increases.
That is just one simple, small example of hundreds of reasons why the sooner you talk about memory care assisted living with the senior exhibiting memory-related challenges is important. Don’t hand things over to chances; start talking about this now.