My sweet mom is living in a nursing home. She requires lots of care and we decided she needed to stay after she went there from a hospital stay. We sold her little mobile home. Very sad day. It's been over 5 years and Im still sad every day. How do I stop being sad?
Unfortunately, sadness, regret and guilt can often accompany placing a parent in a facility. It's a difficult choice, but the bottom line and guiding factor is a balance between what's best for the parent and good for the caregiver. It might have been better for her emotionally to keep her at home, but could you have cared for her physically and medically? If not, then the placement is the better choice.
But what I continue to sad about is that she needs to be in a nursing home -- not that we put her there. It is very sad to see a parent become a dependent. Her confusion is increasing. That is sad for all of us. At least her pain level is under control.
Yes, watching a parent decline is sad, sad, sad. I don't know how you can keep it from getting to you once in a while. I feel no guilt or regret about placing her. It had to be done. But it is sad that it had to be done.