My husband and I (both in our 40s) have been caring for our next-door neighbor (74M), who is now in the final days of his life due to cancer.
A few years ago, he asked us for a ride to his first chemo appointment. That turned into us taking him to ALL his chemo appointments, which turned into taking him to all his other medical appointments, inviting him over for holidays, and eventually helping him pay his bills.
He has no close family, was never married, has no children, and was self-employed most of his life, so he has no retirement to fall back on. He's a lonely but incredibly smart guy who was struggling, and we knew we could help. So we did.
Now he's dying.
When his doctors told him chemo was no longer working, he named me as his power of attorney. About a month ago, his condition deteriorated very quickly, and he was placed on hospice.
Since then, things have been HARD. He's bedridden and incontinent, and we've had to learn on the fly how to manage adult diapers, keep him clean and comfortable, and care for an increasingly agitated adult. We've been doing our best to figure it all out while watching someone we've grown to care about decline.
I've reached out to every resource I could find. Our hospice provider offers people who come to give him bed baths three times a week, so we signed up for that service.
On the third visit, the caregiver was 45 minutes late calling me to say she'd be another hour. I tried to be understanding, but it was frustrating that she hadn't communicated anything until well after her scheduled arrival.
Then, TWO HOURS after that revised arrival time, she called again to say she was still running late and would just “text me later” to let me know when she was coming.
We had other family commitments that day, so I told her we'd need to reschedule for the next day.
The following day, I was talking to someone at the hospice office, and they asked how things were going. I mentioned that we'd appreciate more consistent bathing times and explained what had happened. The nurse was shocked and told me it shouldn't have been handled that way. She said she'd speak with the caregiver.
Today, APS showed up at my door. I'd been reported for abuse and neglect.
The report alleged that I regularly leave my neighbor in soiled diapers and that he has horrible rashes.
I was absolutely floored.
My neighbor has always been a bit of a recluse. Almost nobody comes to his house. As far as I know, the only people who have been inside and seen his condition over the past month are my husband, me, and the three hospice staff members who have visited.
And I can't help but notice the timing.
I complained about the caregiver's conduct to her supervisor yesterday. Today, APS is at my door accusing me of neglecting the very person I've spent years trying to help.
I have no proof that the caregiver made the report. But given the timing and how few people know the details of his care, I can't help feel like it's an obvious connection.
If there is, I honestly don't even know what to say. We're trying to care for a dying man, and now we're dealing with an investigation on top of everything else.
Today was already hard. Caregiving is exhausting, emotionally draining, and sometimes just plain heartbreaking. You're trying to keep someone clean, comfortable, and safe while watching them deteriorate in front of you.
And then, in the middle of all that, there's a knock at the door and APS is standing there investigating you for abuse.
I just couldn't believe it.
Thankfully, the APS worker was kind. After talking with me, she indicated that she thought the case would likely be closed.
As luck would have it, I'd actually asked our hospice nurse to come by that very morning to check on my neighbor and help me with his catheter. She'd examined him just hours before APS arrived and said he looked “A-OK.”. It also helped that the report claims he was in pee soaked diapers, but my neighbor is currently catheterized.
I'm grateful for that timing, but I'm still shaken by the whole thing.
We didn't have to do any of this. We could have given him that first ride to chemo and gone on with our lives. Instead, we kept showing up because he had no one else and we couldn't let him be alone in this.
We're learning as we go, asking for help when we need it, and doing everything we can to give him some dignity and comfort at the end of his life.
I never imagined that helping someone die with a little less loneliness could end with me being investigated for abusing him.
I don't even know what I'm looking for by posting this. Maybe I just need to vent to people who understand how hard caregiving can be. Because today, on top of everything else, I feel completely gutted.