Caregiver Online Help

Here is a great source of medical information, and it is free! (If you really want to pay for it, see the link for the Merck Manual Home Edition on the right). This is the Merck Manual, and it is available online. You CAN buy it if you really want to, but here is a link where you can get the information FREE http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html Just look at the list on the left side of the page, and there you will see a list of health topics. There is lots of info there. And, if you want more in-depth information, look at the line on the top of the page and mouse over "manuals." There you will see the Merck Manual of Geriatrics, among others, and the information is free online.

Hope this helps.

I am here.
Sue

What Caregivers need this blog?

Accountants, marketing executives, mid-level managers, real estate agents, teachers, computer programmers, truck drivers, salespeople, mechanics, welders, journalists, editors, secretaries, loggers, college professors -- anyone who always knew nursing wasn't for them, but now needs to know what nurses know. This caregiving blog is for you! You know who you are.

If you are lurking about in the blogosphere after work, or during lunch hour, to see what you could find about arthritis, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, lung disease, diabetes, or how to get your elderly parents to stop smoking and eating fat, this caregiving blog is for you! You are in the early stages of caring for your aging parents who still live at home and care for themselves, but things are changing. They visit the doctor more than the grandkids. You wonder about their safety behind the wheel (not to mention, the other people on the road). And what about all those pills they take? How do they keep track of them? In short, you worry.

Or maybe you were looking around because Mom moved in with you a few years after Dad died, and you just wanted to get away for a while. She's taking a nap and the teenagers are at school. This is your chance to sit down, have a cup, and take some time for yourself.

Then there are those of you who desperately, and perhaps suddenly, need to know the nuts and bolts of caring for a disabled, maybe even bed ridden elderly parent or other loved one. You are overwhelmed.

I am here to help. I have many years of home health experience where I helped people in these same situations every day. That's why I know you can do it if you have the right information. I have seen people go from clueless to competent on a regular basis. If you are feeling overwhelmed (or even just whelmed), this caregiving blog is for you.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Caregiving and Water

What is the big deal with water? Everywhere you look, people are chugging out of water bottles -- well, everbody but the elderly. The elderly are trying to make fewer trips to the bathroom, so avoiding water. But, alas, water is important. Whenever an elder falls down in their home and makes a trip to the ER, they always check electrolytes, to see if they were dehydrated.

Dehydration causes electrolyte imbalance, and one of the symptoms of that can be light headedness and fainting, so it can be dangerous, leading to broken bones, head injuries, and such -- including hip fractures.

But there are other things good old water helps with. Water helps prevent infection by keeping the lungs moist and able to clean themselves out, preventing pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. Water also helps keep skin more moist and resistant to cracking and skin tears, which make openings in the skin that can get infected.

Water also keeps urine more dilute and flowing, thus preventing bladder infections.

So, how can you get your elderly loved one to drink more water without making it an ongoing battle? One approach is to fill up a quart jar or pitcher and pour water from it into a very small glass. Then offer that small amount of water frequently. Even if someone does not feel thirsty, he can drink a small amount of water almost absentmindedly. When the pitcher is empty, you know he has drunk a quart of water.

Other ways to get the fluids in are to serve watery soups often (even daily), and serve things that are fluid at body temperature, like jello and popsicles.

And, while you are at it, don't forget that YOU need fluids too -- and coffee and colas don't count, because they have caffiene which takes fluid out of the system.

Drink up!

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Confession

Okay, I confess -- I am a health food NUT!

I eat lots of raw fruits and veggies. I take vitamin D. I make carrot juice. I drink green smoothies. Yes, I do, and I'll tell you why. It's simply because I couldn't do all the things I do if I didn't. I would be too tired. I would have too much pain.

That's right. I am 56 years old, and I have fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. That is, I have those things IF I am not acting like the health food nut that I truly am. If I eat the standard American diet of meat, bread, potatoes, cooked-to-death vegetables, and lots of sweets, the pain comes back, and I am so tired I can hardly move. Not to mention my brain -- it quits functioning! When I eat "normally" (that is, the way most people eat) I end up in a fog and can't think straight. I also gain weight and feel bloated.

Can anyone out there relate to what I am saying? If so, there really is a way to feel good, have boundless energy, and have your life back again. Be a health food NUT. Let people make fun of the way you eat. Let them think you are crazy. I am happy to be considered crazy while I feel energetic and full of life.

I know people don't like to have anyone tell them they should give up eating what they think are their favorite foods, so click on the link on the right where it says CAREGIVER HELP HERE and I will gladly let someone else tell you, or click for the information, and I will just sit in the corner and shut up about it.....

or maybe not. I just have to say, I see so many exhausted caregivers, it hurts my heart. I know that being a health food nut really does make it possible for you to have energy for caregiving AND energy left for yourself, so go ahead and click for the information. It surely won't hurt to look.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

So, who do I think I am, anyway?

You might wonder why I presume to think I know anything about caregiving. That is a valid question. After all, there are already plenty of folks already out there offering advice and solving problems for caregivers -- take the government, for example....

I am a registered nurse. I was a full time live-in caregiver for a quadriplegic for 3 years, and I have been a home health nurse for 14 years. I set up two home health agencies in Alaska.

Currently, I am a parish nurse, and I have my own business as a wound care consultant. I am also an "ostomy nurse," that is, I teach people with new colostomies, ileostomies, urostomies, how to live with their changes. And, I am certified in infection control (go ahead, ask me about MRSA).

So, there you have it. I have been a nurse for 26 years in a variety of areas.

and,
I am here.
Sue Ellen

Long Distance Caregiving

One of the most difficult roles there is has to be that of a long distance caregiver. If you live a long way away from your elderly parents, you might be feeling like you wish you were closer. Things start to happen, like falls, or increasingly complicated health care management. You do the best you can using the phone, or making the occasional visit, but you still worry. You might wish there was someone who would keep an eye on them and let you know when things go wrong -- or when things are going right, for that matter.

There is a type of caring person out there that you might be interested in. They are called care managers. These are social workers or nurses or others from similar fields who have chosen to go into business helping people in situations like yours. They help your loved ones in arranging for help in the home, help with getting to doctor appointments, identifying which referrals might be beneficial, and things like that . All of that can help put your mind at ease, but the most important thing for you is, they communicate with you. They tell you what is going on, and what is really needed. They work with you in meeting those needs.

I have included some links at the end of this post that you can use if you want to locate a care manager. Hope it helps.

I am here.
Sue

http://www.caremanager.org

Regional

http://www.midwestgcm.org/about.htm

http://www.midatlanticgcm.org/about

http://www.gcmnewengland.org/about.html

http://www.gcmsouthcentral.org

When you wake up one day and realize an elderly loved one needs your help, it will be crucial for you to identify community resources. You might THINK you can handle everything yourself, but think again. Here you are, trying to accept the reality that this strong, parent figure who has always been there for you now needs your help. This can be difficult to do for several reasons. For one thing, the neediness of your own parent emphasizes your own aging and mortality. Another thing is, your relationship with this parent figure who has always been there for you, and always been a source of wisdom, is now changing.

As caregivers, we must evaluate owr own needs. We must know our limits, and our strengths. We must know the limits and strengths of the person we are caring for. Then, we must be aware of help that is available.

There are programs that provide assistance, there are devices that can help in the home, and there are things to read that can help. Keep your eyes and ears open. Look in the yellow pages. Find out what is available BEFORE you need it.

Maybe you will need meals on wheels. Maybe you will need a caregiver that goes to your parent's home, part time or full time.

Look for others who are in the same situation you are in, and get ideas from them. It is amazing what a little brain storming can do.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

The Selfish Pig's Guide to Caring

Hugh Marriott's wife, Cathie, had Huntington's Disease. It is a debilitating, degenerative, relentless disease that ends in death. When she started having symptoms, the couple sold their house, bought a sailboat and journryed for for nine years, visiting 40 countries, until Cathie could no longer get around on the boat, or in and out of dingies, safely. When they moved ashore, Hugh set about caregiving and writing. This book is the advice he would like to have had "while he was struggling to learn new skills and find his way in an unfamilier role."


It is not a how-to book. There is plenty of how-to advice around (and I will be putting some of it right here in this very blog). The author knows, of course, that caregivers are not really selfish pigs, but what he also knows is that many caregivers (most?) did not choose the caregiver life, did not expect it, are not thrilled about it, and they feel gulity for their reactions. In this book, caregivers learn that they are not alone in their reactions, and the emotional roller coasters they ride in are crowded with other caregivers. In other words, they are not alone.


This book addresses things like, burnout, sex, reactions of friends (and your reactions to them), thoughts of murder, and dealing with seemingly heartless officials. It is written by one who really understands, and believe it or not, it is written with humor. It is a good read. Can you tell I really like this book?

Welcome!

Welcome to the place for caregivers. Not a caregiver? Think again. Maybe you don't know you are a caregiver. Caregiving occurs at different levels. For example, maybe you care for someone in your home. That is a close and intense level of caregiving.

On the other hand, you might have an elderly parent living on the other side of the country about whom you worry on a regular basis. That too is caregiving.

Many people live in the same town as an elderly parent or other friend or loved one. These caregivers can find themselves making regular trips to that person's home to make shure they haven't left the stove on, or fallen, or maybe go there to make meals and take care of the laundry and housekeeping. If you are doing that, you are a caregiver.

As you can see, there is a wide range of possibilities when it comes to caregiving. If you haven't thought of yourself as a caregiver, but see yourself in one of the above descriptions, you might want to look into suggestions that can help you be a caregiver along with the rest of your life.

Welcome to Simply Caring. My intention is to be a resource for those who care, whether it is for an elderly person or a young one, near or far. There are resources for you.

I am here
Sue Ellen