Caregiver Blog on CaregiverHelp.com

7 02, 2017

Unconventional Strategies for Coping with Caregiver Anger.

If you are a caregiver and you find yourself getting angry frequently, I’d like to invite you to click on the link below to my article, “Unconventional Strategies for Coping with Caregiver Anger.” I wrote it for CaringTimes Blog just before the holidays, but I was so busy that I didn’t get a chance to share it on my own social media platforms.

Anger isn’t limited to a season. As a caregiver, you will most likely get angry about something almost every day. It may help to know that anger is a predictable response to a situation over which you have little or no control. So the question is not whether you will get angry. Rather, it is how you will choose […]

26 01, 2017

Caregiver Tips for Getting Through the Winter

When spring is still several months away, getting through the short days and long nights of winter without becoming depressed is a challenge for anyone. It is especially difficult for caregivers. It’s easy to start feeling cooped up, overwhelmed, and discouraged. Taking care of your own physical, mental, and emotional health may be more critical right now than any other time of the year.

If you could use a little help staying positive this winter, please click on this link to my article, How to Survive the Winter Blahs When Spring is Months Away, for some practical strategies for improving your mood until spring arrives.

3 01, 2017

Caregiver Help Word of the Day – RESOLUTION

I Will Not Drink the Poison

A few days ago as I was listening to the news, I wondered once again why it has been impossible for Israel and Palestine to find a path to a peaceful two-state solution. The next thing I questioned is why I am harboring hard feelings toward some of my own family members.

There were some recent events that made me feel like I had been cheated and mistreated. From my perspective, I was completely justified in feeling hurt and angry. I will probably never know how my family members could possibly think their behavior was appropriate or fair, but obviously, they justified it in their own minds.

I have no way of knowing if they had difficulty […]

29 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 9

This is the ninth in a series of blog posts about losing a loved one. I have been writing it as it happened, one day at a time.

October 30 & 31st, 2016

I fell into bed exhausted from the physical and emotional strain. When the phone rang at 11:00 p.m., I was momentarily confused and disoriented. I fumbled with the phone for a few seconds before I figured out how to answer it.

The woman on the phone said, “I am Doctor P, and I’m calling to let you know that Jean’s heart is failing, and I need to know if you want us to give her a pacemaker.”

I sat up on the edge of the […]

27 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 8

This is the eighth in a series of blogs about losing my 90-year-old Aunt Jean. Writing is how I process and heal from difficult events.

October 30th – Sunday Afternoon

Alex came to the hospital after church, and we walked over to the hospital cafeteria and shared a sandwich. As we were coming back to the room, we ran into our priest, Mother Ann. She’d had a nice visit, and she said that when she asked if Jean would like for her to pray, she said, “Yes.”

Shortly after that, the doctor came in to see her. He said, “Jean, you have two conditions. We are treating you for pneumonia and heart failure. We’re going to […]

26 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 7

This is the seventh in a series of blog posts about “When Life Happens All at Once.” It’s a story about losing a loved one, and I’m telling it one day at a time.

Sunday Morning, October 30, 2016

I got to the hospital at 7:15 a.m. Jean was sleeping soundly. I asked Venice, the nurse who had taken care of Jean through the night, how she was doing. She said, “Jean had a really rough night. She had two severe A-fib episodes,” and then she asked me if I could get a copy of Jean’s advance directive. I told her I had visited with the doctor on Saturday, and that he had made a note on her chart to not take extreme measures to […]

25 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 6

This is the sixth in a series of blog posts about “When Life Happens All at Once.” It’s a story about losing a loved one, and I’m telling it one day at a time.

Saturday, October 29

I got to the hospital at 7:30 a.m., because I was told Dr. D is an early bird, and I wanted to be here when he came in to see Jean. She is not doing well. Her heart is being monitored constantly and her rate spikes wildly and then drops suddenly.

They have been giving her IV liquids. Unfortunately, she is not expelling much. They put her on a catheter last night. She didn’t sleep well, and when I saw her this morning, […]

23 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 5

Friday, October 28, 2016

I was told the doctor usually doesn’t come in until 11:00 o’clock, so I got there at 9:30. I had just missed him. It appears that she will be in the hospital for two or three more days. When I spoke to the doctor this morning, he said he thought she should go to rehab when she is dismissed. I am very pleased about that, because she is very sick right now, and I think it will take a while for her to regain her strength.

She is getting very good care. She is getting heavy-duty antibiotics through an IV, so hopefully, it will kick in soon. Even so, it’s been a rough day for both of us. My back and […]

19 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 4

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts about “When Life Happens All at Once.” It’s a long story, and I’m telling it as it happened one day at a time.

Thursday, October 27

We were almost finished with breakfast when the phone rang. It was George, the new manager from Jean’s “active retirement community.” He said, “I’ve only been here three days, so I don’t really know Jean, but she couldn’t get to the dining room on her own this morning. We had to wheel her in. And now, her table mates say she isn’t acting like herself at all. She is disoriented, and she’s dropping her food.”

My immediate response was, “I think you should call […]

18 11, 2016

When Life Happens All at Once – Part 3

This is the third in a series of blog posts about “When Life Happens All at Once.” It’s a long story, and the only way I know how to process everything is to write about what happened one day at a time.

Wednesday 10/26/16

I had my first appointment with Dr. Keenen, the surgeon who will fix my back on the morning of October 4th. He said it will be a simple surgery, and there is a 90% chance that I will be happy I had it. I told him I had my toothbrush in my purse and I could just stay. He chuckled and said, “I would get in serious trouble with my staff if I started doing […]

I Will Not Drink the Poison

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