The Challenge For The Caregiver Of The Patient With Chronic Kidney Disease

How do you cope when your spouse has a chronic disease & you can’t help them?

I have not been in this type of situation and really have no experience about how to deal with it. However, as a Christian person, I would do following few things.I would have a group of Christians who would pray for me and my spouse. There needs to be emotional and spiritual support in a time such as this.I would hope that God will heal my spouse; however, I would let him make the final decision. Prayer helps a lot to release pain. Take your burden to the Lord and let him take care of you. You never know what God has planned for you and your spouse.I would spend time studying the Bible. The Bible is full of extraordinary crisis. It helps you to see the type of crisis people faced and how they wisely (Job) responded to it. In many of these stories, God comes to rescue at the right time.When I was hospitalized, I kept playing Christian songs in my room. It helped me a lot to keep my faith strong.Talk to people who have gone through or are going through the same situation. I am sure, they will be of much help.If you don't mind, I and my church will be surely praying for you and your spouse.

What are the biggest challenges of providing senior care to your parent or grandparent?

Wow. I'm going through this now. My parents are 80, and in not that great shape. 2 years ago my dad had chest surgery because we thought his stomach cancer had come back. 3 weeks after he came home, my mother had a major stroke. My father and mother have a symbiotic relationship, they can't function without each other. My mom takes care of their meds , cooks- kinda, the house. My dad takes care of all the other stuff, money, house cars.. While my mother had a stroke, she was out of her mind. She didn't know anyone, we didn't want her to fall, she refused to eat. I had to take care of my dad, he's on a special diet, he's deaf, blind in one eye and frail. I had to take over all my mother's personal care. I ended staying 6 months. When they finally got better, I hired a cook, housekeeper, PT, OR, went grocery shopping for the cook, made doctor's appointments and went home for awhile. I came back 2 weeks later, They had fired everyone. I live 3 hours away from them. My mother doesn't eat properly and neither does my father. My mother has residual craziness from her strokes. My dad is ill now, I have to take him to the cardiologist. My mom almost died because she wasn't eating or drinking enough and she went into acute kidney failure. I had to call the ambulance from my house 3 hours away, and tell them where to take my mom. They live in a very nice, clean home. They have plenty of money and no mortage or car payments. They have access to state of the art healthcare. They have friends and doing things with them. But I have realized that as long as my parents are ok with their life, I can't take it from them and insist they change their lifestyle to suite me. I can only monitor their health, help with meal planning, go with them to important doctors appointments, and be there for them when they need me. My siblings agree, I have Medical POA so I k ow they won't suffer and get the care they need. But until that time comes and they are apart, I know I will have to go live with the one that's left. They can't possibly do it by themself. And that's why I'm an retired RN, and I love my.mom and dad for all the sacrifices they made for me. I know the time is coming soon. My bag is packed for a short notice. My phone is charged. I wish I could do it MY way, but they don't want that. So until the inevitable, I can just support and monitor.