Home Couples & Family Psychology Child / Adolescent COVID-19: A Day in the Life of Someone Caregiving for an Adult Child with Special Needs

COVID-19: A Day in the Life of Someone Caregiving for an Adult Child with Special Needs

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9:30: I have been promised that I will receive the correct letter within a week. We need this for G.’s military dependent ID to be renewed beyond her 21st birthday. We have until the end of June. Good thing we’re starting the paperwork now!
9:40: I start working on this log.
10am: G. asks for a different cushion on her wheelchair. I go out to the garage to search for it.
10:10: Mission accomplished. Back to emails and log.
10:25: G needs to use the bathroom. This is a logistical challenge. I help her move from the big wheelchair to the smaller wheelchair. The big wheelchair is amazing—incredibly sturdy, but it won’t fit through most doorways of this house. The smaller wheelchair fits through most of the doorways. It’s the reserve, fallback wheelchair. We keep it around because the narrowest wheelchair, which fits through all the doorways, is in the shop. A crucial part broke, and the owner of the repair shop calls the manufacturer nearly every day. The manufacturer calls the subcontractor, who supplies the crucial part, nearly every day. We’ve been waiting for 2 weeks. The smaller wheelchair (the reserve/fallback one) doesn’t steer very well and it’s a challenge to get it through doorways without damaging some doorways. Let’s just say that there are marks on the door frames. And while G. goes to the bathroom, I take care of my needs.
10:30: Back to work.
10:40: G. wants a snack.
10:45: Back to work.
10:50: G. finishes her snack, then asks for the larger wheelchair cushion, which is somewhere in the house (if we still have it).
11am: Break to work on dishes, laundry and the search for the elusive larger cushion. One thing I’ve learned from working at home is that there’s an expectation that you continue with daily household chores during work hours, in addition to the actual work that you’re trying to accomplish. I can’t find the cushion but find an acceptable alternative. I also get out the materials for this afternoon’s craft project.
11:15: Back to work.
11:35: Another snack and discussion about how G. will not be eating lunch during her 12:30 Zoom chat with co-workers, then back to work.
11:50: Bathroom break for G.
11:55: Back to work.

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