# Working through dementia care

> A 65-year-old caregiver in New Orleans balances her mother's dementia with her own survival, finding that work is sometimes her only escape.
- Title: Working through dementia care · Business Insider | Shortify
- Summary: A 65-year-old caregiver in New Orleans balances her mother's dementia with her own survival, finding that work is sometimes her only escape. Angela Davis…
- Keywords: angela davis, dementia care, caregiver burnout, new orleans, long-term care costs, family caregiving, business, technology, Working, through, dementia, care
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/caregiver-mother-dementia-honest-caregiving-burnout-2026-9
- Author: Noah Sheidlower
- Published: 2026-09-19T08:13:01.288+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: angela davis, dementia care, caregiver burnout, new orleans, long-term care costs, family caregiving, business, technology
## A solo caregiver's situation
Angela Davis, sixty-five, lives in New Orleans with her eighty-seven-year-old mother who has dementia. Her mother's at-home care costs upward of seven thousand dollars a month. Davis is an only child.
## The first warning signs
About eight or nine years ago, Davis noticed changes in her mother's behavior. Her mother missed exits while driving, called police about a dog that was home, and accused Davis of trying to steal her house and money.
## A crisis and diagnosis
Davis's mother changed the locks on her house. When Davis couldn't reach her for three days, she broke in and found her mother on the floor. Her mother spent two weeks in hospital and was diagnosed with dementia in February twenty twenty-four.
## Home care instead of facility
Davis briefly placed her mother in a facility, but it stated she needed additional services costing two thousand dollars more per month. Davis brought her mother home instead, where she has been ever since.
## Daily dangers and costs
Davis's mother roams at night, rolled up paper to light for nicotine cravings, and fell a block from the house. The ambulance call cost four thousand dollars. Davis removed the knobs from her gas stoves for safety.
## The financial breakdown
Her mother brings in three thousand two hundred dollars a month. Care costs about two thousand dollars monthly. House upkeep runs five thousand dollars a month for electricity, taxes, insurance, alarms, and her car. Davis covers the gap.
## Work as survival
Davis continues working partly for her own mental well-being. She commutes forty miles one way, usually leaving by four thirty a.m. Work gets her out of the house and away from caregiving for a few hours.
## The physical toll
Davis sleeps on a loveseat downstairs because her mother is up throughout the night. She usually wakes by four thirty a.m. to feed and walk two dogs and spend thirty to forty minutes getting her mother up and dressed.
## Taking time for herself
Davis has taken trips to Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Rome with her son. She models for her child that you should not wait for a diagnosis to live. Her son has also helped by visiting from New York to assist with tasks.

> not waiting for the diagnosis to live. You live now.
## The emotional reality
Davis says even as a social worker, she is not the kind of caregiver who enjoys intimate care tasks. She has made clear her own wishes to not end up like her mother. She describes caregiving as death by one thousand cuts.

> death by 1,000 cuts, and in this case, you could say death by 1,000 memories every day.
## Key takeaway

Angela Davis, sixty-five, cares for her eighty-seven-year-old mother with dementia at home while working to maintain her mental health and help cover costs upward of seven thousand dollars a month.