I haven't really talked about the health scares, medical worries and related issues that the family has been through on here, except to mention that things were crazy and that I did not have the time to blog. More than once now the family has had to face some pretty serious and hard questions, but they were questions that needed answers.
Comfort Plus Online and The White Paper published a piece titled, The State of the Hispanic Caregiver, and it brings up a lot of issues facing multi-generational families every day. It talks about the overall increase in the Hispanic population here in the United States, but especially the percentage of men and women over the age of 65. Interestingly, Hispanic caregivers are on average younger than their non-Hispanic counterparts and the number of elderly Hispanics living with relatives is twice that of the total older population. You can read the entire piece for yourself here: The State of the Hispanic Caregiver.
When I think about all the Hispanic families around me growing up, and even now, the vast majority of them are multi-generational under one roof. That's just the way it is. In fact, I was just talking to a friend the other day about the way Hispanic families really try to make roots where ever they are, even if it means the whole extended family up and moves together. That the numbers of elderly living with their family members is exploding is really no surprise when you look at the overall numbers of the Hispanic population. That many of them are saying they need more information and resources that are specific to their situations and even better, in Spanish is not surprising either.
Honestly, the family, and especially myself and my parents, have talked about just about everything regarding every member of the family. It's scary, and hard to talk about some of these things because you always want to remain positive and hopeful, but they are things that everyone needs to be clear on. In all the times my dad was in the hospital, we always made sure someone was with him, especially since he had a hard time understanding things that were being asked of him or to make medical decisions. My dad speaks, understands and reads in English very well, it isn't his first language, but he has never had an issue. For some reason, he wanted to hear his options, instructions and everything else in Spanish, from us. He was able to process everything better.
Then, and still now, we talk about what would happen if, what each of us wants, what we think we could handle. We prayed about everything, and I feel confident that all of us understand what each other wants and will respect that. I know that no matter what I would take care of either of my parents, if it comes to that, without question. I do know, after going through what I have with my father, that anything to reduce the amount of stress a family and caregivers experience is a good thing. Something as simple as having resources that are in Spanish, or laid out all in one place for family members to access whenever the need arises, it helpful.
ComfortPlusOnline has put together an online website full of resources that Hispanic caregivers can use to find information on the important questions they have. You can find both quality medical products from them, as well as the best services possible for caregivers online-- something that is seriously needed. You can also follow Comfort Plus on Twitter or on Facebook.
If you purchase medical supplies for a loved one, Comfort Plus has provided my readers with a discount code they can use to save $10 on any case of Tranquility products. Use LMB2012 at checkout.
This is part of a compensated campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and ComfortPlus Online. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
