Stephanie from Florida

My name is Stephanie and I care for my mother Elaine. She had 9 surgeries on right leg and 4 hip dislocations. For the past 4 years it's been surgery after surgery. The first time in rehab was an eye opening experience for her and the family. My sister Cathy and I promised her that we would never leave her in a nursing home. We would always take care of her. I had been living and working in Va. for the past 12 years and in 2015 had to come home to take care of Mom after another stay in hospital for MRSA (contracted from rehab). I then made the decision to come home for good. I went back to Va., made arrangements to transfer, sold everything and moved into my mom's home. For the first year I was working full-time and with my daughter's help caring for Mom. Jan 2017 is when the hip pop outs began. She never fell, she would just be sitting, standing or going to bathroom. Surgery to put back in place. I finally had to retire and go from helping run an $80 million dollar store with 300 associates to caring for a 150lb 78 year old women 24/7. It has been a mental, financial, physical challenge for both of us. I have been dealing with transportation issues, insurance issues, and being confined to home. My sister is my lifeline, I never realized how much she had to take on and work full-time. It been a major adjustment to Mom. She has always been very independent, socially active and healthy. She gets weepy sometimes and says she does not want us to hate her. She hates being confined to bed or wheelchair, but we are taking this one day at time. I try to do as much research online as I can. But there are just so many hours in a day and we go from 6 am until 10 pm everyday full steam. I thank God everyday I still have my Mom, a lot of my friends do not and I am blessed!