November 12

I got back from the town I was working in on Tuesday night and noticed mum’s chest was full. I bought Prelone for her to take and Clenil Compositum to put in the aerosol. She’s been doing aerosol 3 times a day, since Wednesday. She still has a full chest but it is very loose. After the aerosol, she coughs and up comes phlegm. It’s not greenish or stinky, which would mean infection. Nor does she...

A Special Treat

I had a special treat today. My son offered to stay with my husband and take care of all of his needs alone today. So I left the house around 9:00 this morning. First, I went down to our local State Park awhile. I sat and watched the sun shimmering down on Lake Michigan for awhile, and then I took a walk on a trail. It felt like I had the park to myself today. All I heard were the birds and the waves from...

My Few Hours Out Tonight

Tonight after work I went out for a few hours with a friend. It was only about two hours but it seemed endless and felt really good. I didn’t realize how much I missed being around friends and outside and not having a care in the world. I missed having conversations and fun. I actually laughed and smiled quite a bit which is so different than I have been. I had a drink which relaxed me. It’s my favorite...

Tell Us: What Do You Hate About the Holidays?

Commercials tells us we should love the holidays. During the holidays, commercials tell us, we have fun parties to attend, glamorous clothes to wear, beautiful gifts to open. It seems there is much to love about the holidays. Except for those things we hate. So, tell us what you feel bad telling anyone else: What do you hate about the holidays? Inside Our Holiday Survival Guide Keep Your Cool The Chocolate’s...

10 Tips to Ease the Pressure-Cooker Holiday: Hoping for Perfect

You want it to be nice, unforgettable, special, as close to perfect as possible. Surely, there can’t be that many more left for both of you to enjoy. But, the pressure to make it perfect can ruin any well-intentioned holiday, be it Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Christmas. And, the pressure intensifies because of those thoughts in the back of your head: How many more holidays will we have with Dad (or your...

Update about Skye

Some sad news to share: Skye’s husband passed away yesterday morning (thanks to Donna W for the heads-up). If you’d like to share a message of condolence, visit her website here.

On Veteran’s Day, a Closer Look at Veterans’ Family Caregivers

A report released yesterday by The United Health Foundation in collaboration with the National Alliance for Caregiving, takes a closer look at the family caregivers of our nation’s veterans. The study, Caregivers of Veterans – Serving on the Homefront, surveyed family caregivers of veterans, including those veterans who served in WWII  as well as during the most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Key...

Discussion with Mom

Today was actually a pretty good day until I had numerous phone calls from Mom needing something which started to frustrate me. The aide she has was not in today and they had to send someone else who showed up at 10 instead of 8.  Most of the conversations I had today with her were repetitive since she doesn’t remember much. It’s hard to talk at work sometimes and even though they are understanding, I...

We Break for Fall Starts Sunday!

It’s November so that means it’s time for We Break for Fall!. We’ll get comfy with autumn while encouraging you to take a break (even a short five-minute one) daily to do something just for you or about you. Our special week begins Sunday  and ends Saturday, November 20. We’re also making our celebration a chance for you to win, with contests taking place on our Facebook fan page, on Twitter, on Your...

Sharing Some Good News!

Please forgive me as I share a non-caregiving experience with you. As caregiver to my husband and mom to our son, two major things are always competing for my time and attention. Sometimes one person, either my husband or son has to take precedence over the other. Tonight, our son got to take center stage. He is 13 years old and will be turning 14 on Sunday. Tonight he passed his Board of Review and is now an...

Mom’s Dialysis Days

I hate when my mom has to go to dialysis. I have accepted the fact that she will be on it for the rest of her life and that she has to go three times a week but, when she comes homes from there, she is sometimes lethargic. I know it’s not easy for her to sit there for three hours and not be able to move until they take her off the machine. My caregiving role always takes on a new meaning on these days. While...

The Power of Requesting Right

This afternoon on Your Caregiving Journey, Beth Ruske, a managing partner at Tiara Coaching, joined us to help us make clearer and more powerful requests for help. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. Beth shared the four reasons that stop women from asking for help: 1. The biggest obstacle is the fear of rejection, of hearing “no.” If a man receives a “no” to his request, he...

A Weekend to Remember

On Saturday while visiting my parents at their living facility I got a first hand view of the load carried by the staff. Since Dad was tired I hooked my arm in Mom’s and together we strolled around the facility. Mom still likes to strut her stuff. In a far hallway I was treated to the sight and sound of a resident complaining about a pending shower only complaining is far too polite for what she was doing. She...

New Annual Wellness Visits for Medicare Beneficiaries to Include Detection of Cognitive Impairment

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued final regulations for implementation of an important provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will include for the first time an annual wellness benefit for all Medicare beneficiaries beginning January 2011. This Medicare preventive service benefit is significant for the growing number of baby boomers who will soon be...

New to Blogging

This is my first blog post. I am grateful to have found this site as I feel that I am not alone and can get some guidance on how to deal with my moms situation better. I actually slept a little better since I joined and haven’t cried. I know it sounds weird since I only joined 2 days ago but I feel somewhat of a weight lifted off my shoulder. Today the nurse came to check on my mom and, since I took the day...

Hunger

When you’re hungry for food, you feel the emptiness in your stomach. In caregiving, when you’re hungry, you feel a longing in your soul. In caregiving, you may crave freedom, a reprieve, a lucky break, a grateful smile, a loving hand. You crave because you seem rarely to receive. When you feel such emptiness, you may feel the need to feed the hunger with Snickers, Doritos and Diet Coke. But those three...

Birthday Dinner

Just wanting to share: Sunday, November 7th, was Mom’s 92nd birthday. My brother was in town from Missouri and the kids had a birthday dinner for Mom. It’s always good to be able to visit and catch up with each other. Mom was not feeling too good, but enjoyed herself just the same. Mom loves holding the babies and visiting with...

Mom is Home from Adult Family Home

Hello caregiving friends, Some of you may remember that we tried an adult family home in the month of September for my mom. I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to give you an update on how that went. The owners of the home were very professional and caring, and the house was beautiful. The reality of the care, though, was that one caregiver was just not able to meet Mom’s needs (along with the other...

November 5th

I’m just popping in here today to post mum’s newest doings. She’s singing – in a very loud raucous voice (she has lost her singing voice). The words aren’t clear either, but I think they are the old hymns she liked, judging by the rhythm - Guide Me oh Thou Great Jehovah, Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus, The Old Rugged Cross and so on. Unfortunately I don’t have a CD of old...

The Sit to Stand Lift

I would say that there has been some more progression in my husband’s disease even since my son, Troy, started helping me. I hope things are leveling off now for awhile. That seems to be the nature of the disease. My husband, Wayne, take big jumps down and then he levels off for awhile. One good thing is that I was able to rent a sit to stand lift. Someone from the office of aging and disability told me about...

You’ll Be Okay

Earlier this week, we launched our You’ll Be Okay campaign. We’re asking former family caregivers (Godspeed Caregivers) to share their stories with today’s family caregivers. The message of each video is simple: You’ll be okay. Today, we’re featuring a video from Jane Meier...

Happy Saturday

I hope everyone is feeling okay today. I also you’ll take a few moments today to soak in happy moments. And, when do, please tell. We’re happy that you take time for happiness. Resources Have your holiday your way—and with our support. Take our November class, “Making My Own Holiday Magic.” Register here. Your Caregiving Journey next airs on Tuesday, November 9, at 1 p.m. CT. We’ll talk...