By Christine Wu, staff writer
As a junior in high school, I have been feeling extra stressed and pressured, not just because of school, but also because I’ve been having to take care of my mom.
My mom gave birth to me at a rather old age and so now that I’m 17, she’s already in her 60s. With old age, she’s been experiencing symptoms of old age, such as chronic back pain, poor vision, lack of energy, and memory loss. She has had chronic back and hip pain for a while now, and it has recently gotten a lot worse. At home, it’s just me and her, so I’m the only one who can help her out.
Things took a turn for the worse 2 weeks ago, when my mom woke me up in the morning on a school day and told me that she felt dizzy. I had just woken up so I was half awake and confused, but I shot out of bed, when I heard a loud slamming noise. My mom had fainted in the living room, and when she collapsed, she hit the glass table that was behind her. That caused her to have an injury on her back on top of all the pain she has already been having.
I quickly grabbed my phone and called 911, sending her to the ER as soon as possible. She had to stay over at the hospital overnight and the next day she was discharged out of the hospital but they had an ambulance take her home because she couldn’t walk up/down stairs.
Ever since she came back home, I’ve been cooking for her, doing the dishes, cleaning the litter box, as well as other chores that I usually don’t have to do daily because I have school. Every night after she showers, I help her put on lidocaine patches on her back and make sure she takes her medication.
With all these added responsibilities, I’ve been really busy and stressed out. I not only worry about what I have to get done, but I also stress about rushing home after school to make sure my mom’s okay and that nothing happened.
There have been multiple times where she told me that she felt dizzy and so I stay by her side until she feels better, which stops me from doing anything else. A lot of the times I have been having trouble sleeping well or doing school work consistently since I barely have much time left anyways.
I’m not sure for how long I will have to do this, but even if she gets better I think it’s time for me to be in charge of most things from now on. I don’t want to have her overwork herself or take any risks that can worsen her back and overall health. I am a junior in high school, so I still have a year of high school till I have to go to college and get a job.
Being aware of this, I know that it’ll definitely be harder for me in the future but I hope that things won’t be as bad as I think. I can tell that my mom is very grateful and doesn’t want me doing all these things, but I don’t want her to feel like a burden. It’s not anyone’s fault and I’m happy to help her.
