In-home care too costly for seniors, caregivers

I can’t tell you the exact moment I realized I was my mother’s primary caregiver. It just happened. With this you might think I resent having to care for my mother. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I resent politicians that spend more time attacking each other’s politics than truly working to make life better for all Americans … especially seniors. In Florida, my mom is not eligible for Medicaid because she lives with me and my household income is too high. The irony is if she lived alone, she’d be eligible for more paid care services, yet, she’d all but have to live at the poverty level or live, you guessed it, in a nursing home. How does that make any sense? I’d like to see our Florida legislators looking at ways to fund more in-home care available based not solely on the household income of the family.

One day, during the early stages of the pandemic, I pulled out all our old photo albums in hopes of jogging Mom’s memory. She wasn’t, however, the one that learned most from this … it was me. In the images were the sacrifices she made as a single mother to ensure my sister and I had a life.

I don’t know how long this journey will be and my home is very similar these days to a nursing home. But that’s OK. At least strangers aren’t caring for my mom, I am. And I guess it just means doing without to ensure she never has to go to a nursing home, waiting on someone to feed and care for her. We can and must do better for seniors in Florida.

Randy Ross Orlando