It’s Raining It’s Pouring . . .

Semester over – check.  Metings go on for a bit, but my grades are in and it’s odd (as always) when the year ends; people you’ll miss and likely not see again and people you’re glad not to be dealing with anymore! Over the weekend we visited my eldest son who’s finishing up his Masters degree – and we had the lovely surprise of meeting his new girlfriend. Finally, someone who...

How Have You Grown Because of Caregiving?

Caregiving changes everything. Especially you. So, today, as part of our We Break for Spring! celebration, we’re talking about growing. How have you grown because of caregiving? Have you grown courage? Faith? A back bone? Compassion? We’d love to know: How have you grown because of caregiving? Share in our comments section for a chance to win one of our beautiful gift baskets. And, congratulations to...

“For Me?, Ooooh!”

I feel as though I should apologize before writing this - but, if this post can help one person avoid what I have tried so hard to balance for a couple of months now - it’s worth the honesty (no matter how personal).  If my mother was herself, I think she would somehow agree. I have learned – the hard way – that someone with advancing dementia becomes very unaware of their body’s...

Caregiving. Again.

On Friday, Kim Atchley, coauthor of When Your Aging Parent Needs Care: Practical Help for this Season of Life, joined me on Your Caregiving Journey. Kim cared for her parents. Now, she helps care for her mother-in-law. We spoke about what caregiving is like the second time around. (You can listen to our show via the player below.) During our discussion, Kim said that the first experience helped in that she knew...

How Will You Play Today?

We’re breaking for spring! Today’s question is: How will you play today? You can play an instrument, play a board game, play cards, play tag or play a favorite song. You can play in our Solitaire Showdown (starts at Noon CT, 1 p.m. ET). Or, maybe you’ll take a playful attitude. You can play for a minute or two hours; it’s not about the time but about the doing. So, how will you play today?...

5:34, 5:35, 5:3OUCH!

Here’s a new one for you, or at least for us. In the first 14 days of May, Steve has had a headache in the evening shortly after we’ve sat down to dinner seven times. From what Steve described on the first, he was having a migraine for the first time. Our son and I have both had them so I recognize the symptoms, but I kept a cautious eye on Steve when he told me he was having one of his worst headaches...

Let’s Fly a Kite

Yesterday, Robert told me he went to the park with Day Program. He loves going to the park and, over the last few weeks, has told me about eating lunch there and flying kites. A while ago, he told me his kite went “way, way high in the sky.” I told the Day Program counselor how much Robert enjoyed flying the kites and he told me he had difficulty getting Robert to let go of the kite he was enjoying it so...

Wednesday

Wednesday Steve and I went to the local university to hear the results of his recent annual assessment. The testing included two hours of neuropsych testing and a meeting with a neurologist. For the family meeting we met with a neuropsychologist who goes over all the test results. The news was actually very good. Steve did better on many of his tests compared to how he did a year ago. On a few tests he did the same...

Caregiving Again…With Younger Generations

We spent the night at my daughter’s home last night. Her surgery to repair the collapsed lung is scheduled for Monday. The situation is complicated (but delightfully) by the fact that she has a 6-month-old nursing baby girl. Last night, we did a trial run of getting up with Lulu (baby’s nickname). She did fine when I put her to sleep last night, but at 3:00 AM she wanted her Mama and nothing else....

Just When You Think Everything is Looking Up…Life Gets in the Way

Yesterday I received a call from Mom’s dialysis center that her blood pressure was just about at stroke level.  They called the doctor and were told to send Mom to the hospital since they didn’t want to take any chances. I rushed from work to go to the hospital. The doctors managed to get her pressure down but instead of keeping her there and making sure her pressure didn’t go up, they decided to...

Your Story for Chicken Soup

Trish spotted a call for stories from family caregivers from the folks at Chicken Soup for the Soul. Here’s what they want: Do you have a family member who requires constant care? Well, you are not alone. The stories in this book will be written by people caring for a family member who requires their assistance due to a variety of reasons – old age, Alzheimer’s, chronic illness, long-term or...

Contingency Plans Rarely Work

So many family caregivers are the only support option for the carees we serve. While other family members usually exist, they tend to be too far away, too busy, or too something else to be of value when they’re really needed. The other day, I was handing Lisa a cup of coffee. I was standing and she was seated on the floor leaning against the sofa for support. It turns out that there’s a tiny spot on my...

Confused

Have you ever felt just lost and confused about life? That’s how I’ve been feeling lately. I wish I had the option of checking out of my life for a couple days, but if I can’t even check out for 5minutes then it is most likely not going to happen. I love technology, I love being able to get wi-fi on my iPod and check email, but some days I wish it didn’t exist. I wish I could throw my phone...

My Daughter and Granddaughter are Having Surgery on Monday

Our daughter’s surgery is scheduled for Monday. Today was “Grandma Bootcamp Day.” I spent several hours learning the baby’s routine, and her other grandma did the same. I think tomorrow night, we’ll try keeping the baby (and her 7-year-old brother) here.  A “dry run” before the surgery. The surgery will be video-guided, and they do not anticipate needing to crack her chest...

Poll: What Would You Like the MD to Ask YOU?

You have a relationship with your caree’s physician, but often it can feel one-sided. You ask, he or she answers. Wouldn’t it be great if the doctor took time to ask you? In this week’s poll, sponsored by Caregiving.com and eCareDiary.com, we ask: What would you like the doctor to ask you? Vote below and share any additional thoughts in our comments section. What Would You Like the Doctor to Ask...

We Break for Spring! Starts Sunday

We made it! We say good-bye to winter and hello to spring. To celebrate, we’ll holding a week-long contest on Caregiving.com called We Break for Spring!. We’ll celebrate spring while encouraging you to take a break (even a short five-minute one) daily to do something just for you or about you. We kick off our celebration with a friendly (??) card game we like to call Solitaire Showdown. The showdown...

Solitaire Showdown is Sunday!

Our next Solitaire Showdown is May 15! And, this time, winner will take $50 plus bragging rights! In order to win, you must join our Solitaire Showdown group. With our group, we’ll be able to chat and “talk smack” throughout the Showdown. You can join the group here. Not a member of Caregiving.com? Become a member so you can join the group. On May 15, play our Solitaire game any time between Noon and 8...

Overwhelmed and Hurting

Our beautiful, amazing 25-year-old daughter saw the thoracic surgeon today. For those of you that don’t know, on Saturday, her lung collapsed. She was sent home from the ER with a chest tube that kept her lung inflated and told to see a surgeon first thing this week.  They will do surgery to repair the lung as soon as possible. We, as a family, have a few “speedbumps” before the surgery can be...

Scary Situations

Saturday my family did something really different for us. You see, we are not adventurous people.  We don’t jump out of perfectly good airplanes, bungee jump, climb mountains because they exist or really step out of an ordinary life. But one day I saw an ad on TV for something called the Flightline at the Wild Animal Park. It looked so fun! The ad showed a person on a zipline sailing above the animals. I wanted...

My Three Children Have Celiac Disease

As you have read, I’m a spousal caregiver to my husband. However, in September of 2010, I found out that my three children have Celiac Disease. My son was in 3rd Grade, my Daughter in 1st, and my youngest daughter starting her first year in pre-school. Celiac Disease is an allergy to gluten, so anything containing rye, wheat, barley, or malt in the ingredients. It’s found in just about anything you can...

Tell Us: What Do You Want?

Last night, I attended a workshop led by Dr. Ann Clancy. During her presentation, Ann shared her definition of worry. Worry, she said, is the habit of focusing on what you don’t want. And, then, the light went on for me. Of course, we worry because we think that what we don’t want to happen will do just that—happen. We spend so much time thinking about what we don’t want that we forget to...

Thank You

I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to Denise for choosing me as the CareGifters recipient this month. I believe that this was another sign from God that I am following His will and not my own. I have had a very hard time the last couple of years doing this and seem to continually get the signals wrong. Last night, I enrolled at Penn Foster and am now officially in the Pharmacy Technician...