Unexpected Imprints

This is a picture of  Marah’s arm this morning when she woke up.  I had never noticed these designs on the comforter before–sure enough they were there. (: I couldn’t help but equate the imprints to caregiving. In the challenges of caregiving, and sometimes the feeling of drudgery, there are unexpected lessons, joys, rewards,…positive imprints happening that we may not be aware of,...

New to This Board

My name is Jane and I’m new to this board. I am a caregiver for my daughter who is 16-years-old. She was diagnosed in January 2010 with a congenital heart defect, pulmonary hypertension, and Eisenmenger syndrome. She was also diagnosed in February of this year with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. She is currently stable with her medications but we know what the future holds for her. I try to stay positive but some...

Our Last Five Days

I last posted on March 12th. I can’t believe that it’s only been five days ago! SATURDAY….We were on our way to the big city, and a new ER after the problems we’d had at our local hospital the week before (almost combined Ativan and a sleeping pill, then forgot to give Mom her antidepressant for four days- causing paranoia, etc). So, that was Saturday. We got to the ER at 3:00 in the...

Everybody Smile :)

Hubby is still on the downward slide. Slower but still noticeable. Yesterday he had NO idea who I was. Usually he knows me as Kathy, the woman that takes care of him and the one he is supposed to be married to. But yesterday he had no idea who I was. Asked me who I was on more than one occasion; and if I read his reactions every time I saw him, he thought I was a different person each time. He was pensive about...

It’s Getting Very Confusing!

Let’s review.  12/09 my husband, Steve, was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).  3/10 MCI diagnosis is confirmed by a local university at their brain disorder clinic.  2/11 new neurologist, Dr. S, diagnosis Lewy Body, “Without a doubt.”  3/11 Dr. S says there is no dementia, only MCI and the LB is mild. Last Friday and yesterday Steve had two appointments for his annual assessment at the...

Who are your Sister♥Friends?

I am blessed with great girlfriends.  Three of them, in particular, form a sisterhood we call The Graces.  These extraordinary women came into my life as co-workers over 12 years ago.  Together, the four of us have shared the birth of babies and the wedding of an oldest child.  We have supported each other in challenge of cross-country moves and the heartache of the passing of a parent.  Two have built a...

Bear Hugs

Mom had carpal tunnel surgery on her left hand on Monday morning. It hurts her still, but not enough for pain pills. The biggest problem is that she can’t put her weight on her hand yet, so she needs help getting up and down. Her right arm is hurting, because she is putting more of her weight on it in trying to get up and down by herself. So we are doing the Bear Hug Waltz (Thanks, Donna W!) Mostly, I have...

Scary Stuff

Since my last post things have been so crazy and now after tonight I am definitely scared. Mom’s blood pressure has not been stable since last week. It has been way over 200 almost every day and they have not been able to stabilize it. Last month I had given the rehab Mom’s medication list that she was taking at home. Her blood pressure was beautiful when she was here. According to the rehab and my...

CareGifters: Funding Solutions for Kristin

As you know, caregiving can be a financial strain. So, to help family caregivers, I’ve launched an initiative called CareGifters. (You can learn more at its website, CareGifters.org). Each month, I’ll highlight a family caregiver in need and ask you to help out by donating $5. (Your donation is not tax deductible at this time. I’m working on it, though.) The goal is to raise $500. Our first family...

Day Program Update

Woo Hoo!  The Day Program “interview” consisted of Robert signing documents promising he won’t hit or bite (no problem there) or that he won’t be excessively tardy or absent (now, if I could only get my step-son to agree to that last rule these last few months of high school!).  It appears that Robert has been accepted and his Day Program start date may be as early as Monday.  (Nothing is confirmed yet...

Orange and Red

The Style Crone has been drawn to orange over the past few days and the analysis of this attraction escapes me for now.  I have worn the elements of this ensemble in earlier posts, except for the gifted red wool scarf which provides warmth as I am about to dash out into the ‘March chill’ of this day. This afternoon Nelson and The SC met with his primary nurse and social worker with hospice.  We feel as though...

On the Other Side of the Mic

Our friends at eCareDiary.com invited to be a guest on their talk show, Empowering Caregivers, this afternoon. I thought you would enjoy listening to me be interviewed. You can listen via the player...

Forgiveness, Part 3

Oohhh, you are going to love today’s show on forgiveness, which aired just a few moments ago. You can listen to the show via the player below. My guest, Lawrence, shared the story of his father and how he let go of the long-held resentments he held toward his father. The resentments held toward his father ultimately just held back Lawrence. I asked Lawrence if he could offer steps we can take to toward...

Have a Little Faith

Trying to make myself not worry last night was a little like telling a first grader to stop messing with her loose tooth.  Instantly, it becomes priority number one. Robert doesn’t worry about anything. He just says a quick prayer if he wants to beat me at cards or he wants it to stop raining. He just assumes things will work out because he prays for it to work out (or because he tells me when he’s out of...

“There You Go, Red”

The above words were spoken in the movie “Secretariat” by the groomer toward Secretariat as he ran his race at Belmont.  I loved this movie, and particularly had great admiration of Secretariat’s groomer.  He quietly encouraged people and horse alike. (:  His stamina and steadfast strength were such an example. I was fortunate to see that kind of encouraging in my dad as well.  His...

Our New Support Groups

As you know, Caregiving.com made a move last week. And, during the move, I lost our online support groups. (Read “What I Lost in the Move“.) After a few issues and glitches, I’m happy to say we have online support groups again! The groups are part of the site, which differs from how we used our previous groups. With the other groups, we emailed each other. Now, you can visit the site to read our...

Happy Pi Day

Today is March 14th, 3/14, so Happy Pi Day!  Pi, being 3.14 and a whole bunch of digits.  So, Happy Pi Day! For dinner we’ll be having spaghetti pie with apple pie for dessert!  What better way to celebrate Pi Day than with...

Cooking for Caregiving – Recipes for Diabetes

Karen suggested that it might be helpful to have more recipes for a particular condition, and that seems to make sense. One of our observations is that it can be difficult to find a lot of variety within a particular set of restrictions, which in turn might lead to the food being inappropriate to your caree’s taste, or just get boring over time with a lot of repetition. We thought we might start by looking...

What? Me Worry?

Dare I not worry?  Before you faint at the prospect of me, the best Worrier In The Californian Hemisphere (aka, “Witch”), turning over a new leaf and throwing worry out the window, I’m only talking for an evening.  Letting go for just a few hours.  I visited Robert today and he was doing just fine.  I mean, there wasn’t one thing wrong.  He wasn’t congested.  He didn’t have a fever.  He wasn’t...

New Day, New ER

We’re on route to the ER. Again. Yesterday, I would have said that Mom was doing much better. Now, 36 hours after her last dose of antibiotic, she can’t stand, is extremely confused, and has slept all but half an hour since 6:00 last night. My brother is with us, and I am grateful. We are taking her to the ER in the big city where her uro/gyn is located. I haven’t had time to complain about our...

Your Gratitudes

G-J joined me for Table Talk this morning on Your Caregiving Journey. We discussed her husband’s diagnosis, his change in medications and their trip to Alaska this summer. We closed the show with G-J sharing her gratitudes, which included her husband and her son as well as her self (“I’m grateful for me,” she said). So, today, I’d love to know what are your three gratitudes? Here are...

Pushing Our Luck

So Hubby and I were able to be present at the birth of our grandson a few days ago. Not even Lewy Body Dementia could stop us that time. We had to leave earlier than I wanted to but Hubby declined and getting him home to safer and more comfortably familiar surroundings was priority over my heart desire. BUT my head started to think… We did have a few good hours. Soooo… Surely we could do it again,...