What Change Will Help You?

Last night, we aired our live call-in talk show on Your Caregiving Journey. We tackled this question: What change in the health care system would help you the most? Bette and I shared our thoughts, including a need for better communication between doctors, a need for doctors to be resources to help and support for family caregivers, and a need for customer service in the health care industry. You can listen to our...

Preventing Delirium in Your Hospitalized Caree

Chances are, during one of your caree’s hospitalizations, you noticed that your caree experienced a significant level of confusion. The sudden change in your caree’s mental status during a hospitalization can be startling, upsetting and scary. Unfortunately, the sudden confusion, known as delirium, among the hospitalized elderly is an awful side effect of an inpatient stay. Your caree is hospitalized...

When Did You Say “Enough” to Tests?

This morning, on Your Caregiving Journey, Dr. Benjamin Mast joined me for a terrific discussion on when to end tests for your caree. Dr. Mast is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Associate Clinical Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville (Kentucky). He’s also the author of Whole Person Dementia Assessment. You can listen...

Handling Stress

We all know how to handle stress: - eat, but not too much - sleep - exercise - follow a routine but be flexible - lean on others - pray - use the right tool for the problem (ok you might not know this one but it fits… trust me) - eat some chocolate I could’ve of used all of these today. It’s been a long week and an even longer day today. The week had been extended by multiple away soccer...

Quick Update on MIL

You guys are so great!  With everything you all have going on and then sending me support for the garage renovation for Robert, you’ve also asked about my Hubby’s mom (Carol). A few weeks ago, her PET scan didn’t show any cancer but they didn’t rule it out completely.  She saw a pulmonologist who recommended surgery to remove the fluid and scar tissue on her lungs or she’d have to be on oxygen her...

Good News and Better News

Here’s a news flash for you: Life doesn’t hand you one situation or problem at a time!  Can you imagine how easy it would be if things worked that way?  What would we do with our time if that happened?  Many, many caregivers are either serial caregivers or caring for more than one person at a time.  (According to the caregiving survey done by Denise more than 26% of the respondents were currently caring for...

Another Story to Tell . . .

Something tonight other than Robert-centric caregiving.  My wonderful mother-in-law has been in the hospital since Friday where they are trying to figure out why she has fluid (bloody, at that) in her lungs.  They are telling us it is either a malignancy or an infection but it seems the doctors are leaning toward cancer. I’ve been down this road before so I hope not. My own mom died 2 ½ months after a cancer...

The Why Behind the Feeding Tube Decision

In caregiving, some decisions carry an emotional charge unlike any other life decision. The decision about a feeding tube for your caree is one of those decisions. A feeding tube can be a helpful option during a time when your caree will recover (from a surgery, for instance). For those nearing end of life, the feeding tube causes discomfort without extending survival. Some studies show that a feeding tube can...

New Hardware

Robert is sporting six new staples in the back of his head and I got to visit two hospitals in one day. At 6:00 a.m. my husband’s mom went in for a Valvuloplasty to help out her heart. We were at a downtown hospital to visit with her before she was put under and stayed until the procedure was over. Her procedure was pronounced a success and she’ll be home – better than ever – tomorrow. At 5:30 p.m. I was...

A Stormy Sunday Morning in the ER

Well, this New Hospital is growing on me. Yes, Robert was in the ER again this morning with another laceration on the back of his head. (For someone who wears a very hard helmet, he sure bangs his head a lot). Let’s recap the day although I’ll tell you the ending first so you don’t worry – Robert is fine. (There go my hopes for a career as a suspense novelist!). It’s early Sunday morning, the dogs have...

Decisions

There are days I just don’t want to decide what’s for dinner. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t because I can’t make a decision. I’m actually very good at making decisions and do so all the time regarding Robert, regarding my home and family and at my Day Job. I do my research, weigh the options and have been known to write a “pro/con list” a time or two. I can make a quick, reasoned decision if the...

Do They Know Your Name?

Carol Levine, a former family caregiver, wrote an opinion piece yesterday called “Health Care Typecasting—”Nobody Knows My Name!”. She writes: I’ve been professionally and personally involved in caregiving for the past 20 years. In that time many family members have told me, “I’m invisible in the hospital/nursing home/rehab facility.” “Invisible,” that is, until it’s...

Help from a Hospitalist

On Friday, Dr. Janet Huber, a hospitalist, joined us on Your Caregiving Journey. She shared the reason for a hospitalist and tips to help you work with one during your caree’s next hospitalization. Chance are, a hospitalist, rather than a primary care physician, will provide care during your caree’s hospitalization. (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.) In addition,...

Where Matters, Too, When We Die

I think we all hope that we die when we’ve completed our Bucket List, so to speak. That we end just as our work here ends. An article in USA Today yesterday also says that it matters where we die. According to the article, “cancer patients who died in a hospital or intensive care unit suffered more physical and emotional distress than those who died at home with hospice services, according to study of...

When Dying to Live Makes Dying Horrible

The New Yorker has an incredible article on its website today: Letting Go by Atul Gawande. Gawande tackles the question: What should medicine do when it can’t save your life? The answer lies in a heartbreaking story Gawande tells of a young woman diagnosed with advanced lung cancer while 39 weeks pregnant. Her story illustrates the difficulty physicians have in communicating honestly about chances of survival and...

Suggestions to Help a Caree’s Hospital Confusion

You know this because you’ve probably lived this: Hospitals can be a harsh environment for your caree. A lucid caree can become confused and disoriented hospital patient. A caree with Alzheimer’s can become combative and aggressive during a hospitalization. This week, The New York Times toook an interesting look at the prevalence of hallucinations among hospitalized elderly patients. Pam Belluck, the...

Decisions from the Head and Heart

This morning in Your Caregiving Journey, Viki Kind joined us to discuss her new book, “The Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making.” You can listen to our discussion via the player at the bottom of this post. Viki and I spoke about the five core questions she suggests you ask yourself as you determine how and when to make a decision on behalf of a caree. The questions are: 1. Does the...

Updated Discharge Planning Guide Available

Medicare recently revised its free guide, “Your Discharge Planning Checklist”; you can download the updated booklet here. The checklist helps patients and family caregivers manage a discharge from a hospital, nursing home or other long-term care setting. Look for print versions in June which you can order from the Medicare website and for a Spanish version in the near future. Related Articles Videos Offer...

Quick Tip: Have a Bag Ready for Hospitalization

A family caregiver shared this tip with me several years ago; it’s so good I never forgot it. The family caregiver kept a bag packed with toiletries and change of clothes ready to go in case her caree was suddenly hospitalized. This way, she arrived at the hospital with her bag, ready to stay as long as needed. She could, if necessary, easily settle in to her caree’s hospital room to ensure proper...

Why Can’t Hospitals Do Better?

I moderated a teleclass for family caregivers this afternoon. One of the attendees who cares for her husband expressed frustration about incidences that occurred during her husband’s recent hospitalization. “They called me at 10 p.m. Monday night,” the family caregiver said, “to tell me he was agitated and I needed to hire a caregiver to sit with him. Who in the world could I find at 10 at...

Faith, My Rock

Hello everyone. I hope you have been able to enjoy your holiday season this year. I am convinced that all of these moments are precious. Mine has been challenging, to say the least, but I think the duration has been appropriate and memories have been made; something that has become very important to me. Now, between Mom’s hospitalizations, an incredibly intense work project in a new job, getting ready and...

A Dementia Patient Hospitalized: What to Expect

By Paula Farris (Editor’s Note: On a regular basis, we invite health care professionals and family caregivers to write a guest blog. Today’s guest post is written by Paula Farris, a family caregiver, who offers tips on managing  your care recipient’s hospitalization.) For a person with dementia symptoms being hospitalized is challenging. In addition to the condition that caused the...