{"id":368,"date":"2018-09-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/"},"modified":"2019-12-03T00:19:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T00:19:35","slug":"respite-care-to-the-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"Respite Care to the Rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being a carer can be a rewarding yet challenging role. Ruth shares her journey as a carer for her husband, James, with us. Ruth has been James’ primary carer for nearly a decade and discovered respite care as a way for her to take a break, recharge and have support as a carer.<\/p>\n

For James and Ruth, who will soon celebrate 50 wonderful years of marriage,\u00a0living together in the home\u00a0where they\u00a0raised their family, in the community they love,\u00a0is incredibly important.<\/p>\n

Ruth and James’ experience with respite care<\/h2>\n

James\u00a0was a local business owner and community service club member and\u00a0Ruth was a local school teacher. Sadly, not long after\u00a0James retired,\u00a0his health took a\u00a0turn for the worst when he\u00a0suffered a major stroke. After 10 weeks of rehabilitation in hospital,\u00a0he returned home and\u00a0Ruth became his carer.<\/p>\n

With the help of community care services<\/a>, the devoted couple have been able to continue to live independently and safely in their own home. For Ruth, knowing that she has helped her husband to stay living at home means the world to her.<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0Ruth finds it a rewarding experience, the fatigue and demands of being a carer can take its toll at times. Over the last few years,\u00a0James’ mobility has\u00a0declined further\u00a0and it’s now more challenging for\u00a0them both to enjoy the things they love to do.<\/p>\n

Ruth’s\u00a0family think she’s a superhero but recognised that she needed some\u00a0time to herself, to have a break and recharge the batteries. They explored options for residential respite care<\/a>\u00a0so that she could enjoy a well deserved rest, knowing that her husband was\u00a0being cared for.<\/p>\n

Together, they chose\u00a0an aged care provider in Sydney’s South West<\/a>\u00a0when Ruth decided to join an\u00a0annual trip with her bowls club, to take some time to relax. This was the first year that James wasn\u2019t able to join Ruth on the annual trip, which was difficult for them both.<\/p>\n

\"Older<\/p>\n

James’ Stay at an Aged Care Home<\/h2>\n

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Ruth\u00a0drove James to the residential aged care home, and when they arrived, she soon felt at ease as friendly staff welcomed them, showed them to his room and\u00a0chatted about their exciting programs and menus.<\/p>\n

Thanks to\u00a0respite care, Ruth could go on that trip and felt rested when she returned. She had a fantastic time and a well-deserved break. James also had a great break knowing that Ruth was taking time out to enjoy a\u00a0 holiday. He also enjoyed meeting new friends and trying new things in residential aged care such as art and dance classes.<\/p>\n

A few months later, Ruth needed to have surgery and wasn’t able to care for James for a period of time\u00a0 while she recovered. The couple decided to again access residential respite care for James, knowing that this was the perfect option to help them both through this time.<\/p>\n

For Ruth, knowing that respite is there to help\u00a0her when she needs a break or when she needs time for herself, makes a huge difference. She feels supported and knows that James’ care needs will be met, when she is challenged to meet them.<\/p>\n

Ruth said \u201cWithout residential respite care, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to go on that trip or have time to recover from my operation. But I did, and I knew that James was in the best of hands. I didn\u2019t have to worry about his care needs and I could\u00a0 take time out for me. It was ideal really for both of us and it was a nice feeling to come back home together after a break, particularly knowing that this care is available for when we need it \u2013 that\u2019s peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can respite care help?<\/h2>\n

There are\u00a0many\u00a0benefits of respite care<\/a>,from\u00a0providing short-term help for carers needing to take a break or when they are unable to care for their loves ones for a short period of time, to\u00a0trialling an aged care home for a period of a few weeks before making a decision to move in, or as a solution when recovering from illness or surgery. Respite care options range from hourly or overnight in your own home, or longer in a residential aged care home.<\/p>\n

How can I access respite care?<\/h2>\n

Respite care availability\u00a0can\u00a0vary between locations and the assessment of the person requiring respite care will determine their needs, in line with the assistance available in your area.<\/p>\n

To be eligible for residential respite care,\u00a0an\u00a0assessment with a member of the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT, or ACAS in Victoria) must be completed, and the person receiving care must be approved\u00a0for residential\u00a0respite care.<\/p>\n

Flexible respite care, which is respite care in the home, can be accessed through a Home Care Package<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out about respite care<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ruth has been James’ primary carer for nearly a decade and discovered respite care as a way for her to take a break and recharge – find out how respite care supports carers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ageing-concerns"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRespite Care To The Rescue | Aged Care Blog | YourLife<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Being a carer can be a rewarding yet challenging role. Read below to find out how respite care has helped Ruth, who's been caring for her husband for years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Respite Care to the Rescue: Ruth and James' Story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Respite care provides short-term help for older people, from a few days, to a few weeks. For Ruth, a carer to her husband, respite care allows her to take a break when she needs it, knowing that he is being looked after, just as he is at home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"YourLife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-20T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-03T00:19:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"788\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"whiddongroup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"whiddongroup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"whiddongroup\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/3b277bbef25a2171534c53833f7e8989\"},\"headline\":\"Respite Care to the Rescue\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-20T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T00:19:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\"},\"wordCount\":822,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Ageing concerns\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\",\"name\":\"Respite Care To The Rescue | Aged Care Blog | YourLife\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-20T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T00:19:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/3b277bbef25a2171534c53833f7e8989\"},\"description\":\"Being a carer can be a rewarding yet challenging role. Read below to find out how respite care has helped Ruth, who's been caring for her husband for years.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg\",\"width\":940,\"height\":788,\"caption\":\"An elderly couple intimately holding hands.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Respite Care to the Rescue\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/\",\"name\":\"Whiddon YourLife Blog\",\"description\":\"YourLife by Whiddon, an aged care blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/3b277bbef25a2171534c53833f7e8989\",\"name\":\"whiddongroup\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ded04896ded8459cf30ab897971f07d8ad35c8fea8884b2edb96dd709debe07d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ded04896ded8459cf30ab897971f07d8ad35c8fea8884b2edb96dd709debe07d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"whiddongroup\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/author\/whiddongroup\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Respite Care To The Rescue | Aged Care Blog | YourLife","description":"Being a carer can be a rewarding yet challenging role. Read below to find out how respite care has helped Ruth, who's been caring for her husband for years.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Respite Care to the Rescue: Ruth and James' Story","og_description":"Respite care provides short-term help for older people, from a few days, to a few weeks. For Ruth, a carer to her husband, respite care allows her to take a break when she needs it, knowing that he is being looked after, just as he is at home.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/","og_site_name":"YourLife","article_published_time":"2018-09-20T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-12-03T00:19:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":940,"height":788,"url":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"whiddongroup","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"whiddongroup","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/"},"author":{"name":"whiddongroup","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/3b277bbef25a2171534c53833f7e8989"},"headline":"Respite Care to the Rescue","datePublished":"2018-09-20T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T00:19:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/"},"wordCount":822,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg","articleSection":["Ageing concerns"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/","url":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/","name":"Respite Care To The Rescue | Aged Care Blog | YourLife","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg","datePublished":"2018-09-20T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T00:19:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/3b277bbef25a2171534c53833f7e8989"},"description":"Being a carer can be a rewarding yet challenging role. Read below to find out how respite care has helped Ruth, who's been caring for her husband for years.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/elderly-couple-holding-hands-picture-id547513026.jpg","width":940,"height":788,"caption":"An elderly couple intimately holding hands."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/respite-care-to-the-rescue\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Respite Care to the Rescue"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/","name":"Whiddon YourLife Blog","description":"YourLife by Whiddon, an aged care blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/3b277bbef25a2171534c53833f7e8989","name":"whiddongroup","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ded04896ded8459cf30ab897971f07d8ad35c8fea8884b2edb96dd709debe07d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ded04896ded8459cf30ab897971f07d8ad35c8fea8884b2edb96dd709debe07d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"whiddongroup"},"url":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/author\/whiddongroup\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":461,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions\/461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whiddon.com.au\/yourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}