I took my uncle to the airport today. It was such a beautiful day. Nice and warm. Feels more like the Spring than the Fall.
I then did a quick grocery run and came back home. This time, I went to a different store just to see their prices. Opened the app on my phone for my favorite store and compared prices. All brand name items were almost the same. The store brands are inexpensive when compared to my favorite but, honestly, I like my store. When the price is right, when there is a BOGO type of sale on items I frequently buy, I take advantage of that.
Gotta get my act together and take care of some organizing around my home so that, I can ask the new cleaning lady to come and work her magic.
I found a bunch of things that cannot be given to charity and I will be cutting them up for rags. Price of paper products are off the roof these days so, using rags may save a few cents.
There are a few projects in my mind. On top of my list is taking down the contents of the kitchen cabinets and sorting through them. This has been in my mind for so long that I need to take action soon. It will not take a whole a lot of time but, you know, I am lazy when it comes to house chores. My oven needs a good cleaning too.
I typed the above and left my post as a draft for a few hours. Then, my sister just called to tell me that her MIL's caregiver had to be taken to the hospital due to high BP. Her FIL has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's so, sometimes he gets confused. When my SIS found out that he is taking the caregiver to the hospital, she asked my uncle to go see what's going on. Poor uncle could not even prepare his dinner. He went to the hospital and took my sister's FIL back home and will stay with the caregiver till she can be taken home in a few hours. Good thing that he flew there today.
I wish it were a normal thing for elders to go to nursing homes and assisted living facilities in this country like it is in many others. Unfortunately, it is something frowned upon by most of the population and I know my BIL will never even consider it. That is why they have the caregiver. Now she is sick too. I hope, she will get better soon and treated for BP and she will not want to leave to go back to her country.
BIL's father refused to move to Izmir with them when the bank placed my SIS and BIL in Izmir 7-8 years ago. They are both branch managers at the bank and they cannot take a few days off here and there so, they keep going to Ankara every three weeks on the weekends to check on them. It is a hard life for them and I am concerned about my sister too since she already has an autoimmune disease. Tomorrow they will be flying to Ankara for the weekend late at night.
I worry about them but, that doesn't solve anything. Sigh...
Not so many years ago it was normal for the elders to live with the younger members of the family and be taken care of, of course, but with more and more women going out to work/having to work, that is often no longer possible. My sister and her husband took care of my mom for about four years at home (both were retired though) but eventually they couldn't do it any longer and mom went into a home. We all HATED the idea but I have to say it was a lovely home and mom had visitors every day. It took the pressure off my sister and mom was very well taken care of. That being said, if your sister's FIL has Alzheimer's he needs taken care of too, so it must be a nightmare for your sister and her husband. I hope they can get something sorted out (and that their carer gets better soon too). It's more stress on top of everything else isn't it!
ReplyDeletePart of the reason why people still dislike homes for elders here is that, decent places are rare. When people cannot care for their elders themselves like my BIL and SIS, they hire caregivers. Most of these people are foreigners because, Turks do not want to live in. Thankfully, some of these people speak at least a little Turkish and adapt rather quickly. My grandparents' caregiver was Moldovian but in her background there were Turkic ancestors and she spoke the language better than most. This lady is Georgian and has been here for a long time so she is very fluent. I have already told my SIS that her FIL will need extra care pretty soon. She understands it but her husband is still in denial mode. He is very sentimental and private so, it is impossible to know what he is thinking and planning if at all.
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