How Do You Manage Caregiving and Your Career?

The New York Times published an article this afternoon with tips on how to manage work while you’re caregiving. (You can read the article here.) The tips mentioned in the article include: using the Family and Medical Leave Act in order to create plans, manage emergencies, transition your caree into another care setting; checking with your HR Department to learn about resources available to you which can...

Managing Life When Every Day Can Be Different

This morning, G-J, who cares for her husband, Steve, joined me for Table Talk on Your Caregiving Journey. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. We intended to talk about G-J’s plan for her summer and to take a look back at the past year for her. As we began to speak about her plans for the summer, we moved into another discussion: Managing life when a illness or diagnosis can...

You’re the Coach

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Holly, who cares for her husband who has frontotemporal dementia, joined me for Table Talk. She helped to answer the questions: How much do I push my caree? How do I know how much he or she can handle? (You can listen to our show, via the player below.) Holly shared several suggestions, including eliminating a question when assigning tasks. Meaning, instead of asking her...

Poll: Do You Have a Caregiving Back-Up Plan?

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” ~ Allen Saunders Certainly, caregiving changed your life plans. It also demands planning and scheduling. And, then, when bad weather or flu or another emergency gets in the way, it demands a Plan B (and sometimes a Plan C and D). In this week’s poll, sponsored by Caregiving.com and eCareDiary.com, we ask: Do you have a caregiving...

How Do You Manage Bad Weather?

I’m in Chicago, which today is in the path of a bad weather system covering 2,100 miles. Our blizzard warning goes into effect today at 3 p.m. and will last 24 hours. In normal situations, bad weather becomes an inconvenience. Add in the life storm of caregiving and bad weather can be an incredible challenge. Perhaps you care for your spouse and your aging parent, who lives alone; how do you ensure both have...

Recovering from SSS and Facing Our Fears

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Anna Stookey joined us to talk about Self-Sufficiency Syndrome (SSS), “an inability and unwillingness to ask for help or delegate because of the belief that no one can do it as well as you can.” You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. We spoke about the reasons why we may suffer from SSS, including: 1. We become the source of knowledge...

Budgeting for Care

On Friday, Sheri Samotin of LifeBridge Solutions, joined us on Your Caregiving Journey to discuss how to budget for care. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of this post. (Did you know Your Caregiving Journey is part of iTunes? You can download our free podcasts here.) Sheri shared great information, including: The difference between budgeting and planning; budgeting is about the “right...

Let It Snow…

Image by Oregon State University Archives via Flickr I think we’re in for it this weekend. When you’re not out shoveling, you find yourself inside staring at your four walls and your care recipient. Or, you may be staring at your phone, hoping your care recipient will be okay. We’ve got some articles to help you weather the storm: Getting Help to Your Care Recipient When Bad Weather Gets...

Ask Denise: Can We Convert the Garage for Him?

Dear Denise, My brother-in-law suffered a stroke. The doctor said he was bleeding into the brain. After extensive Intensive Care at a Stroke Center, he is now in Rehab. We have been told that he will be there for about 6 weeks…..he seems to be showing improvement already, but the doctor indicates he will need “Assisted Living” for the rest of his life. He is presently 77 years young. He is my...

Ask Denise: We Can Help, If They Would Only Let Us

Dear Denise, My grandfather had two heart attacks after fives years of angina and a previous heart attack within that five year period. He is going to be having a double by-pass very soon. He and my grandmother are in their 80′s and live alone in a little two-story house. Two of my aunts live near my grandparents and my third aunt  lives in the next state. My father lives across the country near my sister....

Seven Lifesavers for Long-Distance Caregivers

Image via Wikipedia By Sheri Samotin (Editor’s Note: On a regular basis, we invite health care professionals and family caregivers to share insights as a guest blogger on Caregiving.com. As we launch our online support group for long-distance family caregivers, we asked Sheri Samotin, a family transition coach, to share her top tips to help long-distance family caregivers. You can listen to Shari and...

Tax Time Great Time To Update/Review Paperwork

It’s the time of year to be surrounded by paperwork. Since the pile of pile already takes up a chunk of your dining room table, why not review legal documents for you and your care recipient to ensure they are up-to-date. –Will: Experts recommend updating your will every three years. Consider: Are beneficiaries still living? Does the will reflect the correct distribution of all assets? –Durable powers...

How Do I Train My Sister?

Dear Denise, Finally, I’m going on vacation! I’ll be gone for two weeks in September. My sister will stay at the house and take care of my mom. Here’s my problem: How in the world do I tell my sister what I do every day to take care of my mom? Hello, Good for you! It’s wonderful you’ll be able to take a well-deserved vacation. Because you do so much, it can seem daunting to communicate...

Contingency Plans: Who Will Step In If You Fall Out Of Step?

You become so used to handling it all, so much so that you can’t imagine not being there for your care recipient. But, there will be times when you can’t. You may have the flu, or be called out-of-town unexpectedly, or need to devote your time to another family crisis. Or, your home health aide, who you employ, is sick, but you need to be at work for an important meeting. Who will step in on your...