When your family member is diagnosed with dementia, there are many considerations and questions that must be answered as soon as possible. When immediate nursing care in the home or elsewhere isn’t an option, it’s family caregivers who fill the gap for dementia patients. 
Providing care for a loved one is an overwhelming experience no matter the medical diagnosis but the unpredictable scope of the caregiver job means that it can be difficult for family members to maintain balance in their life.
Furthermore, in certain cases, dementia conditions can worsen so much that the person really needs the support of a dementia care specialist in a nursing home. Some of the unique issues faced by dementia caregivers can include:
- Issues with helping the loved one as concerns over speaking, walking, and swallowing get worse due to disease progression.
- Fearfulness of the loved one’s behavior
- Changes in mood
- Anxiety over the loved one’s disorientation or wandering behavior
The progressive nature of dementia adds to the level of unpredictability and also the emotions that the caregiver is coping with. Caregivers should be mindful of when the situation has escalated to the point that it may be better to place the loved one in a nursing home. Research has found that:
- One in 5 family caregivers have poor or fair health
- Between 40% and 70% of caregivers say that they are dealing with anxiety or depression
- The mortality rate for spousal caregivers who are older than age 66 is 93% higher when compared with their noncaregiver counterparts.
The support of an experienced estate planning attorney in MA can help you if you have recently been diagnosed with dementia and want to protect your estate as well as your family members to make it easier for you to qualify for Medicaid.
