Blood Tests

I had been waiting on a call from Nicole’s cardiologist office regarding her blood levels being low. Her doctor there relocated to California in May as he wife got a job out there. ( There are two other doctors in the practice and Dr. Appleton had referred her to the woman doctor. When I got the blood work back and called to speak with the nurse this doctor was out of the office so she talked to the other...

Bumper Car Kind of Day

It’s nearly the end of a long downhill slide day; I hope I can write and get this out of my fingers on the keyboard. How quickly can this go?  Today I’ve read more than a few posts about how difficult this is, how fast it goes, what we’ve lost, and how grateful we are to check and find our loved ones awake in the morning.  I feel like a freakin’ gymnast today, mentally shrieking and...

Still Missing Her

Today’s #eldercarechat on Twitter — hosted by Seniors for Living and our one and only Denise — made me think about my grandmother Ruth. The chat was about how to care for loved ones with dementia. Ruth (who I call Dibi) is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, and even though her symptoms started a decade ago, my family is still coping. Still grieving. It’s a long, cruel disease. I’d like...

Things Caregivers Need to Watch

As caregivers, we learn what to monitor so we can judge just how well our caree is doing. We learn to take temperature, blood pressure and blood sugar, how to count respiration in breaths per minute, to measure food and liquid intake, urine and stool output. All this measuring is designed to tell us how our caree is doing. You can take CNA classes to learn what you don’t already know. But they don’t...

Organizational Skills…

I was reading the blog Bette did on her journal for the family and caregivers that would be attending to her mom while she goes away. I was just responding to it on her blog but thought why not just write a blog on it myself. Bette, I love your organizational skills. ). This is an area I struggle with. I know Denise helped me with my free coaching call on getting a binder ready with all Nicole’s records,...

Me and My Lewy Body Shadow

I was so tired from lack of adequate sleep I went to bed before 10:30 PM one night only to be waken shortly after midnight by a tap on my leg. Hubby was laying in an odd position at the end of the bed and couldn’t get himself switched around. Not immediately aware he was stuck there I asked if he was OK. He said he was, but that he had a big mess on his side of the bed. I got up and walked around to...

Blue or Red

Steve has been bothered this evening by something that happened today.  He had a dentist appointment.  When he got there, he wanted to use the restroom before being seen.  There are restrooms on the floor, shared by all the offices.  Each office has the keys for the restrooms.  Our dentist has the keys on toothbrushes.  The men’s room key is on a blue toothbrush, and the women’s restroom key is attached...

Too Much To Tell

In planning for time away this summer, using Denise’s advice for a journal, I began organizing my mother’s needs during the day. To organize, I decided to use index cards and arrange my mother’s needs on the cards into a photo album.  Each card would have a heading (and picture) and on the back would be the instructions. I know this is necessary to comprise, but writing down the ‘hour by...

Jail

You didn’t receive a diagnosis but it sure can feel like you’ve received a jail sentence. Sentenced by caregiving. In what seems like a minute, caregiving has taken away your privileges: Your freedom, your flexibility, your future. And, it’s put you in what feels like the tiniest room in the world: A room full of supplies, equipment, devices and medications you never knew existed. In this tiny...

Caregiving’s Cost: $3 Trillion in Lost Wages, Pension and Social Security Benefits

Americans who provide care for their aging parents lose an estimated three trillion dollars in wages, pension and Social Security benefits when they take time off to do so, according to “The MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents.”  Produced by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in conjunction with the National Alliance for...

A Life Line: Three Wishes

Today, I introduce a new feature on the site called Life Lines. On a regular basis, I’ll share tips, words of wisdom and insights to help you manage life. Here’s the first, called Three Wishes: Resources Schedule a coaching call with Denise–your first coaching call is free. With Denise as your coach, you tackle a tough situation, press through a problem, or make a decision about a dilemma. Or,...

To Ignore or Not to Ignore

If I had to list what plagues me most about caring for my husband I would have to say it is not knowing when a “symptom” is  a symptom. Headaches can be very problematic if severe but try asking someone with cognitive impairment to tell you on a scale of 1-10 how bad his head hurts.  He usually responds something like this, “It’s about a 7, like usual.”  I ask, “You’re...

Ups and Downs

Our weekend went VERY well, with my son’s new lady being someone I’d consider to be about as perfect for him as one could be. As I said, he’s a “tough nut to crack” because he’s had such a rough path, albeit one he paved for himself.  This lady is a true match for him – won’t take any b.s. and seems to understand him for himself.  They’re a great match and...

I Feel So Bad…

Yesterday, was our annual end of the year homeschool celebration. We were riding with another family and was going to be picked up about 1:15 p.m. so I planned Nicole’s medication schedule according to this. She took her second dose of Tyvaso at 1:00 p.m. I thought she was feeling okay except for the fact that she was tired because she didn’t go to bed until 4:00 a.m. (which she should have been in...

Why Can’t Anything Come Easily?

It just seems like nothing in my life comes easily and I have to fight for every little thing for the most part. My husband called on Saturday to report my debit card lost. I called the bank today to confirm this and to find out if he can use his debit card (doubtful though). I was on hold for 55 minutes (no I didn’t make a mistake) to find out that the information I wanted they couldn’t give me...

School of You: A Summer School for You

Summer school is in session! Join me for three-week classes that help you manage your caregiving experience. Our school is about you and your caregiving experience, to help feel better where you are right now. Our classes conveniently take place over the phone (“teleclasses”). Teleclasses are a great way to learn, share and support—without leaving your house. In this summer...

Goldilocks

It’s been a while since I posted but I was letting The Meeting simmer for a while. (These feelings probably also contributed to being a bit too harsh on my wayward son). After a week of reflection, I have decided it is in Robert’s best interest to move him. Again. You might be thinking there is just no pleasing me (which, if you ask New Home – or Old Home for that matter – that might be their answer)....

CareGifters Update: Liliana Gets Your Donations!

This morning, I stopped by Liliana’s place of work to present her with two checks: One for $500, raised through our CareGifters efforts, and one for $140, raised by Marah, Bette‘s nine-year-old daughter. The photo shows the presentation of checks, from me to Liliana. Thanks again to all for your generosity! Related articles It’s Liliana Day! (caregiving.com) CareGifters: Giving to Liliana...

It’s New, But It’s Okay

This is what I’ve been telling myself this morning: “It’s new, but it’s okay.” My mother has been wandering around her living room picking up “things” this morning. The things are not there. She’s been asking me to look out the window at “things” as well—they all have different colors. Those things aren’t there either.  So…I repeat to...

In Six Words: What Was a Road Trip Like?

In celebration of Father’s Day (and because I recently took a road trip), let’s talk about the road trips you took as a kid with your dad at the wheel. And, to make it really fun, let’s talk about your road trips in six words. (A special shout-out to SMITH magazine for inspiring our six-word stories.) As a kid, my parents would pack my four siblings and I in our brown station wagon and hit the...

The Weekend

I could see when Steve woke up and smiled at me on Saturday morning that he was doing better than he was on Friday.  Whew!  That’s a nice way to start the day!  After getting sidetracked a few, well, numerous times, I finally got brunch (it was too late to be called breakfast) on the table for the three of us. We discussed what we should do Saturday.  Steve was interested in going to the Santa Monica pier if...

What a Week ….

What a week it has been…. I know it could be worse, always could be worse. The week started off frustrating. We have really known for a while that we would have to file bankruptcy after my husband was laid off. I have asked him and asked him to find an attorney. He’s not home all day and doesn’t get the dozen calls everyday. Finally, I just did it myself. I told him about the attorney on...