Betty Hayes Court Victim
I am the youngest of four children. I was named Power of Attorney by my parents in 2013. I assisted in caring for them in their home for many years. In 2019, my husband and I created an en-suite apartment for my parents in my home. I wanted to create a space to give them the opportunity to age-in-place with dignity and respect while providing the safety and assistance they required. My father had severe Dementia at this time and had bouts of aggression and rage. My mother also had the beginnings of dementia but it was not as advanced as my fathers. I employed two caregivers to help get some relief a few hours a day. My father passed away in September of 2019 and my mother continued to live in the en-suite apartment. Around that time, she started showing signs that her Dementia was worsening. I decided to keep the caregivers on as my mother enjoyed their time and her safety needs were increasing. Fast-forward to March of 2020 when the world shuts down and a caregivers burden is exponentially increased with the COVID-19 pandemic as there are no options for relief, no respite, no breaks, no assistance from anyone including family members. During this awful scary time we lost my mother in-law to COVID not long after the pandemic started and we were unable to have a proper funeral secondary to the situation at hand. This further expounded the grief and stress I had to experience. This is all in addition to my son who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain Avm in 2018 and underwent radiation treat My son was hospitalized twice during this time with severe brain swelling and he was experiencing grand mal seizures… Read More
