Growing old is not for sissies.  One of the hardest parts of growing old and needing help is accepting that mere fact....you can no longer do some of the things you used to do.  If you have a daughter, you are lucky, but if you have sons, prepare yourself for only brief bouts of understanding and help. When I had my heart attack in November 2011,, They paid for a weeks worth of help for which I was very grateful..  Three months later, when I had a bowel resection for cancer and came home after 36 days in the hospital, they were there for me for two weeks, taking shifts.  Now that I need a third surgery (all this in less than a year) for spinal cervical stenosis that is comprimising my spinal cord, they are pretty well sick and tired of me and the entire medical scene.  I feel like an Eskimo that has been put out on a block of ice with nobody to talk with or turn to.  The best thing a caregiver can offer their growing old mother is kindess, understanding (even if they don't understand) and trust.  It's better than any medicine and is pain free.