I am a part-time caregiver for an 80-year-old person with Alzheimer's right here in my neighborhood. She lives with her daughter and husband, and they are the ones who have hired me. She is completely incontinent and in the later stage of the disease. I come into the home and make a pot of coffee, then I go up and wake her up. She is very cooperative and pleasant. I walk her to the bathroom, sit her on the toilet, then change her Depends for her. I help her wash her hands, then help her down the stairs for coffee and breakfast that I prepare for her. I sneak her medications into the fruit portion of her meal. I make her lunch, sandwich and fruit, and pack it in a bag that she takes with her to an adult daycare facility that she goes to daily. After she is done eating, I help her back up the stairs, bring her back to the bathroom and brush her teeth for her. After that, I clean her eyeglasses, then take her back to her bedroom where I dress her for the day, put deodorant on her, and brush her hair. We then go back downstairs to sit and wait for her transportation to pick her up and take her to the daycare center. While waiting, I wash the breakfast dishes and tidy up in the kitchen. When the van gets to the house, I walk her outside, and the driver helps her into her seat. I go back inside, let their two dogs in the backyard into the house, then lock the house up and leave. Usually it runs smoothly. There's been only one time that she had a bowel movement on the toilet, and I had to clean her up. Usually it's just urine in the morning with the Depends being soaked when she wakes up. I throw that away in the garage when we first go downstairs. The woman is very sweet and pleasant. There's no communication, other than two or three phrases that she repeats. She will smile and laugh when I wake her up, as if she's happy to start her day. She does the same thing when the van arrives to pick her up, as if she enjoys going to the daycare center daily...which is good. She's very cooperative, as well as in a predictable routine. I have no caregiving background other than some experience with my own grandmother having Alzheimer's. I visited her regularly at the facility where she lived, and am very familiar with the stages and progression of this illness. My FIL also had dementia, and we cared for him for a time also. The whole process takes about an hour and ten minutes. I get paid $20 for each visit each day. Having never gotten paid for this type of work, I'm trying to determine if this is the "going rate". Any ideas on this?
jakkom
asolo
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