Caregiving

Today on Your Caregiving Journey, Anna Stookey joined us for the second part of our discussion on healing family rifts. Our discussion focused on spending time during the holidays with those who just seem to push our buttons. (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of this post.)...

With the sun setting so early these days, you may feel like you spend most of your day in the dark. And, that seems to reflect how you feel about your life: You’re just in the dark.Know this: Dusk brings dawn. Your dark hours will lead you to lightness, wisdom and knowledge. Your sun will shine a...

My Aunt passed away April 26, 2006, and I feel like it was just yesterday.Aunt Hilda had the best attitude of anyone I have ever known. She had a very difficult life at times but if you met her on the street you would never know. Throughout her lifetime she probably had surgeries on every part of...

Today is Kiss a Caregiver Day*, a day for you to receive love and accolades for all you do. Consider yourself kissed:XXXXXXXAnd hugged:OOOOOOOAnd, know that, even though you may not hear it very often (and often enough), what you do is wonderful, heroic and nothing less than admirable. You are tr...

My husband and I ventured out to see his neurosurgeon again last week. It’s a two-hour drive for us, so we joke that we should move closer to the hospital to save gas.The trip was to re-evaluate the setting on Chad’s shunt. We did, as we suspected, have to go down to the final setting...

I spent some time with both of my parents today – it was ‘family day’ at the memory care home where my dad lives. It was interesting to see probably five times the number of people there as usual (there was free food). Actually, all of the commotion got on my nerves – I ...

Results of a new study say that your care recipient prefers you as the caregiver over a trained professional. Your care recipient is happiest when a family member provides care.But, you already know that. You know that because of the resistance you receive when you try to bring in professional he...

Meg Cooch, MPP, director of programs and operations for National Alliance for Caregiving, provided the following update about legislation that would impact family caregivers. If you support this legislation, contact your Senators as soon as possible to ask for their support. We’ll provide u...

It was a busy week on Your Caregiving Journey!On Wednesday morning, Chirag Patel from Halo Monitoring took us into the future, telling us know about emerging technology that can help family caregivers. We learned that Best Buy is pilot-testing a section of stores in Seattle devoted to health gadg...

Dear Denise,I’ve hired a few women (recommended by friends) to help care for my mother-in-law, who lives with us. My mother-in-law’s care needs are intensifying, so I’m thinking of hiring home care workers through an agency. Any suggestions?One the women I’ve hired is lovi...

Last week I wrote how my Caregiving “CAREER” started and I wanted to continue with that, but I’m having a personal crisis here. In between caring for my Granny and caring for my dad was the worst time of my life, when I hit the bottom. Those years were my drug years, the years...

Pride: It’s one of our blessings and our curses.You can feel so proud of all that you do and have done. You stayed when it was easy to run; you pushed when it was easy to back down; you believed when it was easy to doubt.But, pride can keep you from getting help, finding support, trying sol...

Meg Cooch, MPP, director of programs and operations for National Alliance for Caregiving, provided the following update about legislation that would help family caregivers of veterans. If you support this legislation, contact your Senators as soon as possible to ask for their support.Key Provisio...

Many years ago, a member of one of our online support groups regularly reminded the group members: Life is for the living.In caregiving, you sometimes feel stuck between life and death. How do you go about life when death and decline won’t go away?Last night, during The History Channel’s “WWII in...

I began the hobby of jurnaling way back in January of 2005 and I am so incredibly happy that I did. I wish I had thought to do it earlier in my life. I have not missed one day in almost five years. I will admit, some of the days are very mundane stories of chores and errands. There are some won...

Happy 102 Birthday I believe that my caregiving role began at birth. When I was born in 1958, my paternal grandmother lived with my parents. I had three siblings, a half sister 12 years older than me, a brother 6 years older than me and a sister only 2 years older than me.My dad worked in a local...

Image by Julep67 via FlickrIt’s a cook-free (and dirty dish-less!) Progressive Party.Throughout the week of December 6, we’ll stop by the blogs of family caregivers, dropping off holiday well-wishes and good cheer. Our party also includes companies that provides services and/or products to ...

Are you a family caregiver with a blog?Between December 6 and 12, be a host in our Holiday Progressive Blog Party! It’s a cook-free party; instead of dishes, we’re sharing comfort and support. Throughout the week of December 6, we’ll stop by the blogs of family caregivers, dropp...

Ken Mills and his children on his 80th birthday. (Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three-part series written by John Mills, who we call a Godspeed Caregiver. In this series, John Mills discusses caring for his father and his decision after his role ended to launch a business, eCare Diary, t...

Fellow caregivers,I was recently blessed to remain employed with my current employer as a role was found for me two days before my last day.  Although this is normal course of business where I work, having the added caregiving dimension made it interesting, to say the least.  Actually, I believe ...

Yesterday, on Table Talk, we discussed one of the answers you gave to our question: If you could, what would you change about your caregiving situation? (You can listen to our show via the player, at the end of this post.)You said: I would change how I feel about all this–I wish I felt bett...

Image by dsb nola via FlickrYesterday, on Your Caregiving Journey, we spoke with Wilma Naschin, who shared tips on how to rebound from a lay-off. (This is the first of a three-part series on recovering from job loss; up next week: Starting Your Job Search. You can listen to the show via the playe...

Are you over 60 and caring for a loved one with heart failure?Please, tell us about your experience and earn $50!The Oregon Center for Applied Science is developing a DVD to help seniors who care for a senior who has heart failure.  To do a good job with this, the staff is interviewing caregivers...

(Editor’s Note: On a regular basis, we invite healthcare professionals and family caregivers to write a guest blog. We asked Ashley Varner, MSW, MBA, senior director/caregiving programs for Cancer Support Community to share information about Cancer Caregiver Day, November 16.)When a person you ca...

Image by Velo Steve via FlickrIn a world full of caregiving, the celebrations may seem few and far between. A family member isn’t doing well, so it may seem that celebrations just aren’t appropriate.It’s actually a perfect time to celebrate.A disease or illness will rob you and ...

Saturday at 10 a.m. CT, we meet again for another edition of Table Talk on Your Caregiving Journey. This week, we’re discussing your answers to this question:If you could change one thing about your caregiving situation, what would that be?In preparation for our talk, we’d love for yo...

On Wednesday mornings I help my daughter-in-law by helping with two of my grandaughters’ homeschooling. Today when I was helping with home schooling the girls sang a Scripture song they are learning for their Bible class. It was based on the Scripture passage in Jeremiah 29:11 which tel...