In 2008, my mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 63. Fortunately, my dad and I were able to keep her in our family home in Baltimore until her death in July 2014. I live in DC and would have liked to have been able to take paid time off from work to help out with my mom and help interview the caregivers we hired to take care of her. If I had taken time off from work, it would have eaten into my paid time off, which is both vacation and sick time. If I had been the main caregiver for my mother, I would have had to use up all my paid time off and then some – not an ideal situation. If I need to take care of my dad somewhere down the line, paid time off from work that doesn’t eat into my paid time off would be very much appreciated.
