The road to recovery after a stroke can be long for seniors. If your senior parent is home from the hospital, or coming home soon, in-home care can be a big help during their recovery. Seniors prefer to recover at home in familiar surroundings instead of being in a rehab facility. But your senior parent is probably going to need a lot of extra support at home while they recover.
In-home care can bridge the gaps when you can’t be there to help your senior parent. When your senior parent has a caregiver who is there when you’re not you won’t have to worry about your senior parent falling if they try to get up or being hungry or thirsty. You also won’t have to worry that they’re alone if they have another stroke or medical emergency.
Meals and Snacks
If your senior parent is still in a hospital bed or moves between a chair and a hospital bed they definitely can’t get up to make themselves meals and snacks or get something to drink. An in-home care provider can cook healthy delicious meals that will help your senior parent get strong again.
They can also make sure that your senior parent has healthy snacks like protein shakes. Throughout the day a care provider can encourage your senior parent to drink water, juice, and other beverages so that they don’t become dehydrated.
Positioning
It can be difficult for seniors who have had a stroke to get into an upright position, sit up, lay back, and position themselves in bed on their own. If your senior parent is now experiencing muscle weakness or has paralysis they may be unable to position themselves comfortably. An in-home care provider can help your senior parent get into comfortable positions where they can rest, watch TV, and eat and drink safely.
Housekeeping and Laundry
While your senior parent is recovering there is still housework to be done. And there will be a lot of laundry that needs to be done. A care provider can take care of housekeeping tasks like vacuuming, mopping, cleaning up the kitchen, doing the dishes, washing sheets and linens, washing clothes, and making sure your senior parent always has clean warm socks and blankets.
Household Tasks
In addition to housekeeping tasks a home care provider can do other things that are necessary to keep the household going like taking out the trash and making sure the trash and recycling go out on trash day. Feeding the pets, bringing in the mail, accepting deliveries, making sure there are groceries in the house, and other errands are all tasks that a home care provider can do so that you don’t have to.
Helping With Mobility
After a stroke seniors need to be careful moving about the house. They could fall, trip, or get dizzy when they are getting in and out bed or trying to walk around. It’s good for your senior parent to get up and walk around to improve their circulation, but they should have a home care provider there who can lend them a shoulder or an arm so they are steady on their feet.