surrounded by truth
If your loved one can no longer read, but you want to keep Biblical truth as a part of his/her life, here is a wonderful way to do that. The beautifully produced Music & Majesty series by Discovery House Music DVD's are filled with beautiful nature photography, favorite hymns, and the word of God. Several of us in the group have been able to use these and we highly recommend them. They are about $15 each. Here's the link if you want to learn more...
Link to Amazon
Caregiver Hiring Methods Compared
Over the years, Gary’s care needs ranged from accompanying him on a walk, to complete physical care. We had a team of family, friends, volunteers from church, agency care givers, private hire care givers and home health aides (through hospice).
Perhaps you can no longer leave your loved one alone. You need to go to work, or need respite time. You are ready to hire a care giver. I hope that my experiences will be helpful as you navigate this new season in your family’s life.
For both my parents (in their 90’s) and Gary, I have used a care giving agency AND have hired my own caregivers. Between my mom and dad, and Gary, I was managing eight caregivers concurrently, for over a year. There are benefits and challenges with each method. Mainly it depends on your availability and your personality.
To read or print entire article and chart, click HERE.
To print time sheet click HERE.
This article is excerpted from my blog post... "Seeking Caregivers?"
article: "A Cause for Christ" by Ken Tada
If you are a Caregiver, or know someone who is, please don't miss this article from Ken Tada. He has been married to Joni, a talented, who is a quadriplegic for 30 years, and his take on commitment, and serving a dependent spouse is fantastic. This article is straightforward, humble, personal, and encouraging, You will be blessed, and challenged.
Click this link for the article: Caregiving: A Cause for Christ
Click this link for "Joni & Friends" ministry:http://www.joniandfriends.org/
Medical Air Mattress…a solution for dementia patients and their spouses.
3 years ago, when Gary began to be much more sedentary he developed some bed (pressure) sores on his heels. At first I didn’t know what they were, but basically they looked like big blisters. This happens when the body isn’t moving enough and one part is pressing down on the bed for too long. The blood doesn’t circulate there, and a sore can develop. It can happen really quickly. It’s even worse when there’s weight loss and less padding on the bones, so the pressure is greater. This can be a huge problem, and it is not uncommon for dementia patients to die from systemic infections, that start with a pressure sore. So, I began setting my alarm at 2 hour intervals during the night so I could get up and roll him over. As you can imagine, this was exhausting and I began to do research to see if there was a better way to keep him protected. Well, I found the most amazing thing! I know some of my readers are caring for a loved one and will want to know about this. It’s a circulating air mattress. It has 15 channels of air, and a small motor which deflates and inflates these channels in sequence. You can set the timing and duration. It’s a twin sized mattress that fits his hospital bed (in fact is designed for hospital use) but for the first 18 months, I had it next to my twin mattress on our King box springs. You never would have known it was not a regular King sized bed. Now I have my twin bed pushed up to Gary’s hospital bed. But the mattress has been chugging along, pumping air, 24/7 giving us both a good night’s sleep for about 3 years. Pretty cool, huh! Now that Gary has lost so much weight we have begun to change his position again when in a recliner chair, but in bed, his mattress keeps his skin from getting damaged. It was about $1500, but if you already HAVE the pressure sores I think Medicare will cover some or all of the cost with a Doctor’s order. I got ours after the sores were healed, but it was a very good investment and I think it has really saved Gary much pain and misery. There are lots of choices, but here’s the one we got: http://www.medicalairmattress.com/mdt24supradps.html Good Night Zzzzzzzz……
For more info on adapting your home to care for a loved one...click