Caregivers in McKinney, TX – Healthy Vision Month is May
At 82, your father was living alone and had recently suffered a heart attack. While he was at the hospital his doctor recommended he get support from a professional caregiver.
You didn’t think that was necessary. At the time, you didn’t know anything about professional home care services and assumed that since you live relatively close to your father, you could just check in on him every so often and things would be fine. After all, it was a minor heart attack, according to the doctor, and he should make a full recovery.
After the first couple weeks of stopping by, your father called you more frequently because he needed help doing various things around the house. That led to you stopping by more regularly as well. It started taking a toll on your life. You are spending less time doing things you enjoy, even less time focused on your work, and you were feeling the effects of stress beginning to build around you.
One late night when you were driving home from your father’s house, you noticed the cars coming the other way were not quite as clear. The headlights seemed to be doubled. Instead of two headlights blinding you, there were four. Buildings and streetlights that were well illuminated also began taking on that double vision phenomena.
You rubbed your eyes and things seemed to clear up for a minute, and then they got worse again. You slowed down, took your time, and managed to get home safe. By the time you stepped inside the house, everything seemed to be okay. You washed up and went to bed and didn’t think much more about it. You simply passed it off as double vision.
However, at 56 years of age, you hadn’t been to the eye doctor in a long time. You also didn’t know there were many potentially serious vision related problems that could be causing episodes like you experienced on the road that night. Cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are three of the most common serious vision problems that can affect people as they get older.
May is Healthy Vision Month and as a caregiver, you have taken on a great responsibility, but your own health should not be ignored for the sake of caring for someone else. Any potential vision problems you experience should be addressed and treated right away. Never pass it off as fatigue, stress, or even anxiety. The sooner that vision problems are detected and diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin and that can help stave off permanent vision loss and even blindness.
If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed as a caregiver, sit down and talk to your elderly father about hiring a professional home care aide. That is the best option that will allow you to focus on taking care of your health so you can be there for him well into the future.
If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Caregivers in McKinney, TX, Please Call The Caring Staff At Second Family Home Care At (972) 846-HOME (4663).