Being a caretaker - the joys and pains

During her cancer surgery, which successfully removed the cancer, Mom suffered nerve damage that left her unable to care for herself.

I was advised by the medical team to have her admitted to a nursing home, but that just wasn't an option. She didn't want to go there and I haven't seen a nursing home I like, at least for any kind of long-term stay.

We have a local nursing home that is clean and mostly well-staffed, and they took fairly good care of Mom when she fell and broke her leg, but Mom hated the short stay of several weeks and I know she would not do well if she were to move there for an extended stay.

So, I made the decision to bring her back to the home she'd lived in for over 30 years. Even with a lack of mobility and needing care every hour or two, she has the pleasure of being surrounded by familiar things and being able to set her own schedule.

It hasn't been perfect, however.

I'm her only caretaker and I haven't slept for over three hours at a time in several years. I'm always tired.

I'm as much of a shut-in as she is. About once per week, I make a mad dash into town to buy groceries and run errands, but I need to be back within two hours, so there's no time for socializing.

As a result, I build websites and meet people around the world on various social networking sites.

When I closed my metalsmithing business to care for Mom full-time, I had to find a way to earn a living.

Fortunately, I found affiliate marketing and now I earn 100% of my income from my home-based marketing business. It is the only way I would have been able to keep Mom at home.

I'm happy that she's been able to live in her own home for over five more years and it's been worth the effort and lack of sleep. She cared for me for years when I needed it and I feel that now is the time to return the favor.

Only time will tell if she will be able to live out the remainder of her life here. I hope so, and so does she.

We're making it, one day at a time.

All the best,

JD