When I took the job as caregiver for a 91 year old woman with moderate to severe dementia, I did not know what I was getting myself into. After a few days of providing live-in care, I found myself the subject of daily derogatory put-downs, name calling, refusal to accept any assistance, accusations of stealing property and valuables. In essence she sees me as someone not worthy of her respect on any level. Her narcissistic abuse has turned my life into a living h*ll in just one month.
Moving forward, in addition to free room and board, what financial compensation can a live-in caregiver for this type of patient expect or request?Qualifications include : Education- M.Ed. Experience- 30 years in the Education and Training Industry and 2 years as a Dementia live-in Caregiver.
With live-in conditions it can become complicated. Usually the family who hires a live-in caregiver believes that since the caregiver is getting free room and board, they don't expect to also pay the caregiver. That in itself doesn't make any sense. Live-in caregivers have bills to pay, too.
Plus you will be doing the work of 3 full-time caregivers each day, thus working 168 hours a week with zero pay. You will crash and burn from this. Time to rethink this.
You might do better working for a professional caregiving Agency which is licensed, bonded, insured and that has workman's comp should any of their caregivers get hurt on the job. You work only the required number of hours and then you get to go home to rest so to be refreshed for your next shift.
With your outstanding education and work background, just curious why you are doing caregiving now.
They KNEW how old mom was when they hired you. So they didn’t give full disclosure about the job. This is sounding like a dead end situation.
I’ve always thought working for an agency was limiting but they should give backup to their employees.
Follow your instincts and decide if being on duty 24/7 is a great idea anyway.
In 2012, my Mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and since I trusted her care to no one besides myself, I retired and became her full-time caregiver. During the following eighteen months we had together, she told me that her wish was that I would consider caregiving as a new career path. She was always proud of my energetic, nurturing and compassionate way with senior citizens and enjoyed the enthusiasm felt when her friends shared how much they loved me for it.
It was a blessing to be by Mom's caregiver, and the quality of life we were able to share during our precious time together gets me through the tough times when I still miss the comfort of her voice and her sound advice. When my Mom passsed away in 2014 , the decision to follow up with her wish, helped me through my grief. Although my present assignment, full of ups and downs, is probably the hardest thing I have ever done, and for as long as it lasts, I know that my 91 year old narcissist/dementia patient will understand on some level that I am with her when she needs me most.
My life as a caregiver for aging citizens in Dallas, Texas is a life of quality not quantity. When the going gets rough, it is comforting to remember that providing care and making a difference in someone's life everyday is an incredibly gratifying reward.
Thank you all again for your supportive and enlightening comments.
Best Regards,
Zoe
some families prefer private duty caregivers especially for someone with memory issues to eliminate the confusion of them having to deal with new Caregiver every time and again. However even when working as a private duty Caregiver I still make sure to discuss the laws with the family and still play by the rules because often time if you fail to do so they treat you with little to no respect and demand so much from you. It’s really important to let them understand what you are ought to do and what you not .
You stay there and you can do a lot of staff like cleaning the rugs out of your goodwill so they really need to understand that.