THE VILLAGE
Jane Bentley, Content Advisory Board Member
Jane Bentley
Content Advisory Board Member
Jane's husband was diagnosed with dementia in 2009 and Alzheimer's specifically, in 2012. After Keith had to retire due to his diagnosis, he attended Joy's House Adult Day Service 5 days a week so that Jane could continue working full-time. In 2017 he moved into memory care and passed away in October 2019 - 10 years from his diagnosis. After being at home alone for two years after Keith passed, Jane knew that she needed to rediscover herself. Since then she has become active at her church and in the community. She's honored to be a part of Caregiver Way and wants others to know that there IS life after caregiving.
Jane Bentley's Recent Contributions
Now What?
Jane Bentley
April 19th, 2024
1 min read
Article
If you were a caregiver whose loved one is now in a full-time care facility, you may be find yourself having lots of questions:
Now what?
What am I supposed to do now that I’m not caring for someone 24/7?
Why do I feel so lost?
Why do I want to sleep so much?
Sound familiar? I could go on, but you get the idea. When you have been a caregiver for someone for
so long, it’s sometimes hard to find “you” again. Lots of extra time sounds wonderful and scary
all once. And if you’re like I was, you may even feel guilty that you have the
freedom to do what you want for a change. It took me awhile. After all, I was a caregiver for 10
years. Being able to sleep without always “having one eye open” or “listening for your person”
sounds good, right? But being able to do that takes time. And really, before you can
even consider what you want to do next, you need to learn to relax, breathe and just BE.
And in my case, THAT was progress. No need to figure it all out today…take your time; be good
to yourself; listen to your body and your heart. Give yourself some grace. You deserve it.
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