Caring for aging parents can overwhelm (Portland Press Herald)
June 15, 2011
When Alexandra Perrin was told her mother had Alzheimer's disease, she knew they both needed help.
Her mother could no longer safely live at her home in Old Orchard Beach. But she had become frustrated and angry when living with Perrin and wanted to be independent.
Perrin, meanwhile, was an only child working full time and living two hours away in Brookline, Mass. She needed help navigating the medical, legal, financial and emotional maze of caring for an aging, ill parent.
"It's overwhelming," Perrin said. "I said, 'I don't know how to do this. I cannot do this by myself.'"
That overwhelmed feeling is a familiar one for a growing number of adults who are becoming full-time caregivers for parents with dementia or other age-related health conditions.
