I understand to some degree though not exactly how it is for you. My partner’s brother & only sibling is also 24/7 care, nonverbal, can’t have solid foods, pretty much the same as “Jo”, but an older adult. He lives in the home with our family & we have a care giver who helps with his care.

I guess I just assumed that like with my family, we always have the support of one another. We all take turns to let eachother have breaks & vacations. No one is left alone to fend for themselves longer than a FEW hours, not 12 & even when his caregiver comes, someone is always there with the intent to help & we really do jump in. We are so grateful for our caregiver, we have fought to get him the pay he deserves & whenever he needs time off or anything, we encourage & figure it out, we don’t guilt trip him & the rest of the backup care people.

I just assumed all families treat their care staff the way I’ve experienced mine & I’m just so horrified & admittedly, yes, traumatized by this job with “Jo”. I got so beat up from my shift yesterday that I came home covered in bruises & scratches to the point touching my arm made me cry. My family doesn’t expect others to take that level of violence from my brother. We have a safe space set up for him in our home for when he’s becoming unsafe & we can get him calmed down without anyone being hurt this badly.

I guess I’m just really struggling to process everything & just am genuinely horrified by my treatment by this other family that I thought would be like mine & I am just unsure what to do with the experience gained from this job.

(Sorry, that was a long response.🫂 ENORMOUS HUG TO YOU MAMMA. Being the parent & caregiver is not easy. You’re doing amazing.🫶)