Is This the Beginning or the End? Or Maybe Just the Middle…

(Editor’s Note: We welcome a new blogger, BreeAnna, who just joined our site yesterday. You can connect with her here.) I haven’t quite decided where my story starts. Technically it was  in 2000 when my mom was diagnosed with RSD, a chronic pain condition, but I was only 11 then so I didn’t so much as caregive as just help out with what I could. Back  then she was still mobile, still doing good...

Needing an Extra Breath, But for a Better Reason

As I was getting my mother changed and dressed for the day this morning, she was “talking” to herself, saying things like, “I hate this. This is hard. Why is this now? I’m tired. I hurt.” Her legs are really bothering her today. Then, just as clearly she said, while looking down, ”If I didn’t have all this, I wouldn’t have you.” I think this goes both ways.

What a Grueling Day Today

Today was my appointment with the new cardiologist. I got there at 8:15 for my appointment and was taken fairly quickly. I explained to the doctor about my previous bout with Bradycardia and started to cry. He told me that he did not think I needed a pacemaker and that it sounded more like anxiety (what a shock). He also told me that in order to figure out what was going on, I needed to have some tests done. I...

In Six Words: What’s a Successful Day?

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Elizabeth Lombardo, our happiness expert, joined me to share ideas on how to stay motivated in your caregiving role. (You can listen to our show via the player below.) When every day seems the same, getting out of bed to face the day can seem like a Herculean task. The day seems void of possibilities, which can just seem absolutely depressing. While we can’t change the...

Tell Us: What’s Your Caregiving Rant?

Tonight our live call-in show airs on Your Caregiving Journey. We’ll take your answer to this question: What’s your caregiving rant? Call in tonight and share a rant. It could be a rant about a part of your day that makes you crazy. It could be a rant about a family member who seems determined to test your patience. It could be a rant about our health care system. It could be a rant about trying to find...

Surfacing

I’m starting to re-emerge from the past several days, and am trying to make some sense of them. They include a plumbing mishap, some surprisingly uneventful yard work, multiple simultaneous freelance jobs, and an emotional roller-coaster. Let me explain. Last year I’d had some volunteer trees taken down that were too close to the house, including one that was in the process of deforming our gutter. It...

Having to Take Care of Me

It is so weird to have to take care of yourself. As caregivers we don’t think that we need to go to get our labs or exams. I had labs done a couple of weeks and they called on Saturday. That was so weird. They said that I had to call today to make appointment. I did but they said that I couldn’t be seen til March so I asked if it is okay and the nurse called right back and she said no I need to come...

Frustrated…At the Word “Inclusive”

As you’ve become my support group and more importantly my mentors… I have an issue burning inside me…that I need some feedback on. As many of you know I have a beef with my husband’s long-term disability company. Though I may be repeating myself (I apologize), I’m going to put down the details here in one place. My husband gets SSDI and his LTD. Three years ago when we moved to GA we...

Important Things in Life

I needed my sister to surprise me that they are having their baby early to get me out of my post-illness funk. New baby should be okay, she says, but he will visit the NICU as a precaution. The little rascal is so eager to meet his siblings, he decided to come at 35 weeks. Wait until he realizes that in the womb, he gets Mom all to himself. If he only knew, maybe he wouldn’t be in such a hurry. I live very...

Moving On…I Am Gonna “Have a BALL”

Thanks again to everyone who sent me public/private notes of hugs while I mourned the loss of our Naomi. Thanks also to Caregiving.com for somehow managing to send me all of those “Hugs” either just before, during, or after. I am truly honored and blessed. So now what? Well, the house is quieter and our other 3-year-old horse-type pup (Lab-Dane mix) is happy to start picking up on training, walks and is...

Highest Praise

Just received the highest praise I could ever ask for. Hubby asked me if I wanted to get rid of him. My reply was was a resounding “Not at all” then I asked why, was he wanting to get away from me? He looked straight at me and said, “I’d be in a world of hurt without you.”

Taking Care of Me for a Change

This past week I really haven’t been feeling well at all. I haven’t been myself for awhile now but this week something seemed different. Maybe it’s all the stress that I have been through but finally I decided to make an appointment with the cardiologist. A year ago December I was told I had Bradycardia which is a low heart rate and may need a pacemaker. I took my blood pressure here in the house...

Where Would I Swim In A School Of Fish?

This is a picture of a wall hanging that we have. I love the ocean and really anything to do with the ocean. I didn’t know what a passion I had for it, until we lived in Oklahoma  for about 10 months and didn’t see any significant water. Marah had a friend visiting about two weeks ago and she said, “I like your beach house.” Needless to say, I’ve surrounded us in shells, rocks and...

Help on Table Talk

This morning, we had a full house for Table Talk on Your Caregiving Journey. Trish, Kathy and Jan joined me to talk about our newly released book, Help, A Collection of Stories by Those Who Care, the first of our CareGifters Book Series. You can listen to our show via the player below. Trish contributed to and edited Help; Kathy contributed a story and a series; and Jan added a beautiful piece of art. We spoke...

An Update on Having Someone Else Take Care of My Man

Hello to my Caregiving friends! So sorry I have been missing for the last couple of weeks. I have been working A LOT. Let’s see. I guess it’s been a month or two since we started having home health aides come in and help Michael with his personal care on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We tried this a couple of years ago, and I just hated it so much, so for a long time, I was his primary caregiver....

A Narrative…

Nicole had to write a narrative for school that relates to a real life experiences that teaches or show a lesson. She finally got it done. I think it is very good but also saddens me at the same time. I did get her permission to share it. 1. I feel invisible sometimes. It makes me very visible in many ways. People judge me because of this invisibility, but that’s because they don’t understand. They of...

Treading Water

Feels like Hubby and I have been treading water for quite some time now. Although we are still moving along in the Lewy Body Dementia waters at least we are not being sucked into its undertow. That’s a good thing. We still have cognition problems. Just last night Hubby asked SonnyBoy where we were. Hubby was obviously concerned and SonnyBoy got concerned about his father’s state of confusion and obvious...

Long Week

Three kids—all sick on and off for almost two weeks. Now, that is not an easy time! A funny phenomenon happens, though, when the kids get sick. I just can’t wait for them to get back to their “healthy” states of being. It’s always a relief when the flu is over and my Carrie is back to her Carrie self. Or Hannah is just dealing with her “typicals,” as we have come to call...

Another Decision

I spoke with to the nurse, Genny, at Nicole’s cardiologist office late this afternoon. She called to let me know that the cardiologist and the PH specialist that I took Nicole to last week had talked. The issue with this PH specialist is that he doesn’t take Medicaid which Nicole has through her SSI. He told the cardiologist he would treat Nicole irregardless of payment. He has already instructed the...

Our Youngest Fundraiser Pounds the Pavement Again

Our work to raise money for CareGifters—which funds caregiving solutions, one family caregiver at a time—doesn’t just take place online. It happens in person, thanks to the efforts of 9-year-old Marah, the daughter of Bette, who blogs here about caring for her mom. You may remember that Marah raised $140 last spring to help Liliana, who also blogs here about caring for her mom. Last month, Marah...

A Huggy Day

This post might be a bit scattered as there is so much to say. My apologies if there’s something lost in the translation. Earlier this week I learned that the CareGifters Book Series – Help came out. Wow! It was a great book and I am honored to not only have been allowed to participate in the project, but that I was surrounded by “expert caregivers”.  My hubby will be setting aside funds in...

So Tired

Hey, sorry I haven’t posted for a while but everything has been so tiring. My mom and dad are doing worse. I have been having to do everything for them. My sister is getting better, I am so glad for that. My dad fell the other day. Apparently he passed out and fell face down. He hurt his rib and fractured his ankle. I wish that we could get the power wheelchair. I tried to do it once and then again. Then I...