If your elderly loved one has an ALS diagnosis, they must be getting the best at-home care. There are numerous home care assistance providers who can help with this. However, before worrying about who will care for your elderly loved one, you may want to learn about some stages of the disease first.
First Stage of ALS
The first stage of ALS generally impacts only one part of the body and the symptoms aren’t very severe. Some issues that may occur are those with breathing, swallowing, and speaking. However, you should watch for difficulties with gripping objects, stumbling, speech, tiredness, and balance.
Middle Stage of ALS
In the middle stage of ALS, specific muscles are paralyzed and others will be weak or unchanged. The symptoms are substantial at this point and twitching is much more visible. During this stage, you and elder care providers should look for difficulties in your elderly loved one such as inappropriate laughter or crying, breathing, swallowing, eating, or standing.
Final Stage of ALS
At this stage, your elderly loved one will need full-time care from you and/or home care assistance providers. They aren’t going to be able to speak, drink, or eat on their own. You should watch for difficulties with thinking processes, fatigue, breathing, mobility, headaches, and muscle paralysis.
Ways You and Home Care Assistance Providers May Help
Now that you have a bit more information about the stages of ALS and what difficulties to watch for, it is time to learn about some ways that you can help, too. There are numerous tips that doctors and other healthcare professionals may give to you and your elderly loved one such as:
- Chatting directly to and with your elderly loved one (even when they can’t properly communicate back to you)
- Ask before helping (you don’t want to take all of your elderly loved one’s independence away)
- Research tech tools that can preserve your elderly loved one’s independence as much as possible
- Find numerous ways for your elderly loved one to keep socializing and enjoying activities
These are just some of the many different ways that you can help your elderly loved one if they have ALS. If you can’t be around often enough to help your elderly loved one do these things, you should think about hiring home care assistance providers who can show up every day.
Hiring Home Care Assistance Aides
Taking care of someone who has ALS is tough. However, it is important that your elderly loved one has someone who can provide their care. They may need people who can help them move around, eat, drink, swallow, and more. If you can’t do these things often enough for your elderly loved one, don’t worry. You can get elder care providers to go to your elderly loved one’s home and provide the care that they desperately need. Once you have these services set up, you will be able to rest easier knowing your elderly loved one is getting all the help they need.
Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9419061/
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Assistance Services in Tustin CA, please contact the caring staff at Canaan Home Care today! 1-844-CANAAN-1 (1-844-226-2261)
Canaan Home Care – A Premier Provider of Senior Home Care in the La Jolla, Del Mar, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Tustin, and Manhattan Beach areas.
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