Raising a Difficult, Elderly Parent

Imagine as a daughter and caregiver, constantly hearing your elderly mom say, “If I had a gun, I would kill you,” and “Everyone says you are a terrible daughter.” Imagine the incredible pain those words and others equally destructive caused within the heart of the daughter whose only goal was to take care of her mom as the woman who raised her fell into the clutches of dementia, depression, arthritis, and pain medication addiction. Raising a Difficult, Elderly Parent chronicles the journey taken by author Daisy Crockett as she, her family, and others struggled to provide care, safety, and the proper quality of life for her incredibly difficult parent.

Filled with situations Daisy felt blindsided by, each can reveal to you things to learn about should you see the same scenarios taking place with your elderly loved one and before those situations spin out of control. How does a child who becomes a caregiver for an angry parent, work to honor that parent as the Lord commands even though the constant attacks begin to take a toll and almost pushes the child/caregiver over the edge? What does the child/caregiver do when the parent is suffering from things the parent can’t control or those things they refuse to control? How does the child/caregiver find capable and dependable folks willing to help out on occasion? And to make it more difficult, how does the one responsible for that elderly parent handle all the situations totally unfamiliar to them, things such as medications, home health care, nursing homes, and Medicaid?

Raising a Difficult, Elderly Parent does not reveal the people or places involved so no one in will experience anymore pain. The words are written from the heart in the hope that honoring one’s father and mother as the Lord says to do will be far less difficult for you than it was for Daisy Crockett and her family.