Caregiving. Caring. In sickness and in health - it's not simply part of a marriage vow. It's ingrained upon our genetic makeup and applies across the spectrum of life.
Nearly everyone has a default, knee-jerk/automated care function within them. Yet, socially & culturally, our civilization hasn't been consistent with providing information about how to care, or healthy caregiving, or how to specifically provide for a loved one within a particular culture, society or group. We are, in a very real sense, learning and re-learning - ideally refining and defining the policy, procedure, skills and information necessary.
But that's not always easy.
For mutual benefit, for comfort, and for the purpose of shared learning through common experience, we form groups and build relationships. We share our tales of joy & woe, challenge and perserverance, triumph and tragedy.
Often, the caregiver loses him or herself in the daily routine of ensuring the highest quality care for their loved ones.
We've listed some caregiver resources before. Others have added to the list. Below, here are a few other tidbits & references that I've come across recently that may be of interest or use.
If you can, please provide any additional suggestions in the comments; if you're familiar with any of the items listed here, feel free to provide feedback.
We're here, because we care.
It's comforting to know that we're not alone, and great to see everyone. :)
CareGiving Kos is a community diary series posted generally on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening by volunteer diarists. This group & series is for those who are now (or have been) in the role of being a care-giver for a loved one. We want this space to be supportive and free of squabbles. Our only rule is to be kind to yourself and others who are going through a very difficult time. Please respect the concept of this group: No Politics Here.1
1 By "no politics" we don't mean "avoid politics completely" - it's too relevant, at times, to portions of the topics discussed. But keep any references to politics focused and within the context of the caregiving topic. Avoid flames, flaming, flame-wars and dragging the discussion off-topic. Thank you.
OK - onward and upward. There's a website called CaringWise that helps caregivers stay organized. They also have a helpful blog 1 that provides some interesting and informative tidbits for caregivers and their families.
Caregivers also have to find resources to get their legal houses in order. There are many options - one I stumbled across while perusing LinkedIn was But what about the caregiver? - it simply states the problem that many of us find ourselves unexpectedly facing and announces a free talk about the topic:
Without warning a sudden illness of an elderly parent or family member can thrust anyone into becoming a primary caregiver. A gradual decline in an elderly parent’s physical or mental ability to care for himself or herself can also force them into this same unfamiliar role and unwanted responsibility.
The problem is that most people with parents in their 60s, 70s, 80s or beyond have no training in how to be a caregiver. They’re just not prepared. And they certainly don’t know how to survive the never-ending demands and stresses brought about from caregiving for an elder parent or family member.
Jack Halpern, CEO of MyElderAdvocate, is giving a free talk in New York on October 26th entitled "How to survive the never-ending demands of caregiving for an elder parent… without losing your mind, your family, or your self." Anyone in the area who may wish to attend can find out more at the link; pre-registration is required. If you do attend, please let us know if you learn anything that we could all benefit from.
Another interesting tidbit that I happened across3 touches upon the expansion of palliative care capabilities within hospitals.4
A new study by the National Palliative Care Research Center finds the number of these important new programs has grown from 600 to more than 1500 over the past decade. Of the nation’s 2,500 hospitals with at least 50 beds, more than 60 percent now offer palliative care.
[...snip...]
Despite common belief, palliative care is not the same as hospice care and is available to people who have serious illnesses but who may not be dying. In addition, palliative care teams do not replace a patient’s specialist or primary care doctor. Rather, they supplement regular care provided by their physicians. As a patient, you can receive palliative care and remain under the care of your regular doctor.
[...snip...]
Yet, hospital-based palliative care programs still have a long way to go. Not only do more than a third of hospitals still not have them, but many that do fail to properly coordinate palliative care with standard treatment.
Read the whole article (it's short) for a more clear idea.
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Footnotes & References
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1 Hat-tip LinkedIn group Alzheimer's Care at Home.
About the Authors
Most posts are by Trevania Henderson, founder and CEO of CaringWise. In addition, we welcome guest posts by members of the caregiving community—both family caregivers and professionals.
2 Hat-tip LinkedIn group Elder Care Professionals.
3 Hat-tip LinkedIn group Elder Care Professionals.
4 Definition:
Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It is focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis.
Definition provided by GetPalliativeCare.org.