My daughter comes back from her dad's house in a few days. Since she left, my grandmother, who we live with and help care for, has gone into a rapid decline. From being able to walk and moderately care for herself to being bed-bound and on end of life care.
I don't know how I am going to balance the energy and excitability of a 5 year old who is off of school for another week with the too quiet, waiting for the end at Grandma's bedside.
I have the morning shift of 8 am to around 1 pm, when we have a health aide come in for a few hours, then my mother stays over night when she gets off work.
I just didn't know if anyone else is experiencing this and ideas for how to handle it.
TIA
Are there any financial resources for you to fund a couple hours of coverage for your grandmother while you are focusing on your grandchild?
Is your grandmother receiving hospice support?
Could you get “emergency coverage” from a neighbor or friend?
It sounds as though you need coverage for 2 potentially vulnerable situations. Maybe someone will help you “just this once”.
We do have hospice, and a caregiver that comes for 8 hours a day- plus my mother here at night. It's the morning shift that I usually cover while my daughter is at school that is the problem.
A 5 year old understands the need to be calm and quite, we called it indoor voice and play. We provided activities that were less excitable, like coloring grandma pictures, constructing a play house out of cardboard boxes and planning the play we would put on with paper dolls, board games and reading, all of these worked to keep activity high and volume lower.
Making her the helper and providing age appropriate tasks for pay can be a great lesson.
Does grandma need a bedside vigilance? Can she be left alone? Is she conscious? Does she love your daughter? These all make a difference.
I think hearing a happy child can only do good and teaching a child about end of life and how we need to behave is a good thing. Win-win.
I am sure you will find a way to meet both there needs for a week.
Why can't your Mom take time off from work? Does she not have vacation time or personal time? I think a child can behave for 5 hours. She needs to be while in school. You don't need to be at grandma's side the whole time.