u/Moira_Beaverhausen

My mother was recently moved into an assisted living facility. They allowed her to bring her medium sized dog with her. She is capable of feeding the dog and taking her out to the courtyard to potty, but cannot walk the dog.

In search of someone to walk the dog in that area (or take her to a nearby park) so she can get her exercise and sniffs in a few times a week. Willing to pay for the services. Probably only needs to be for about 30 minutes a day. Preferably in the morning right now since it’s so hot out. Have not had much luck yet on finding someone on Rover.com

Dog is a Florida Cur/Boxer mix and is about 50 pounds and 8-9 years old. She’s super friendly and is good on a leash but does pull a bit when she sees a squirrel or some other critter that looks fun to chase.

This is in the area of I-10 and N. Monroe.

Thanks!

My mother (73), who was diagnosed 2 years ago, was still functioning rather independently until she recently fell when walking her dog (another dog came at them and she got tangled in the scuffle). Before the fall, she was still driving to the grocery store (only during the day) and also to the local senior center to teach a watercolor art class. She definitely had some word recall issues and a little bit of extra confusion in the evenings, but overall still taking care of herself and her dog.

Since the fall and surgery a couple weeks ago, her cognitive skills have done a deep dive. She’s in a rehabilitation center now and I believe she will improve physically with the help of the physical therapists but I’m concerned that she won’t be able to return home when they feel she is ready to be discharged (which may only be a couple weeks). And if they do discharge her, we as a family are not prepared to care for her nor does she have the financial means to pay for care. I’m currently researching and navigating the process of getting Medicaid approval as well as several other options the rehab social worker and friends have suggested.

Also, I’ve been told by friends in the medical field that the significant decline is common after an event like this (trauma of fall, surgery and anesthesia) and that we won’t know her new baseline for another few weeks. My nurse and doctor friends also warned me that the morbidity rate is 39% in the first year, which was an eye opener for me.

Has anyone else been through this and if so, would you mind sharing your experience and any suggestions?

Thanks so much!

PS - I have the utmost caregivers and I seriously don’t know how y’all do it. I’m exhausted just from being my mom’s advocate in the hospital/rehab and also doing all the research when I’m not with her. I couldn’t imagine doing it full time for a long period of time.