Better Communication With Tender Loving Eldercare

October 10, 2008 By 1 Comment

Linda Abbit has been the primary caregiver for her parents since 2000. Her father has since passed on, and she continues to provide excellent care to her mother, Aida.

A Common Beginning

Like Jay Drayer at Careflash and Carol Bradley Bursack at Minding Our Elders, Linda Abbit has used her own personal experience as a motivator to help others.

Linda’s blog is called Tender Loving Eldercare.  Tender Loving Eldercare has a noble mission. It’s best to hear it directly from Linda:

This site was created to share my knowledge, resources, experience and insight into family caregiving. As a baby boomer, many friends are starting to face the same issues I have already experienced since my parents are older than most boomers’ parents. I am happy to share what I’ve learned being sole caregiver for my parents since 2000.

I hope it is a place where other family caregivers can go to learn from, encourage and support each other.

Communication Skills Are Key

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Filed Under: Assisted Living, Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Reader Q&A: Who Should Manage Medications?

October 8, 2008 By 2 Comments

One of our readers, Lynn, posted a comment to our article on why you need to understand medication management. It’s a good question, and it makes sense to share the answer with the broader audience. Lynn asks:

Ryan, my parents are now in an Assisted Living Community. I’ve been told that they must turn over administration of their meds to the Nurse. Problem is, that there is constantly problems with the meds given by the nurse, ie. meds from another patient, not given at proper time, cannot identify the pill, not all prescriptions given. They tell me that this is a Federally mandated law that my parents cannot self administer, is this true?
We live in Tennessee.

Thanks
Lynn

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Filed Under: Health Tagged With: , ,

Minding Our Elders – A Blog You Should Be Reading

October 4, 2008 By 2 Comments

Within the world of elder care, there are a few bright lights that serve as beacons of information and support.

One of those is Minding Our Elders, a blog run by Carol Bradley Bursack.

Always a Personal Experience

Like most of us, Carol started with a personal experience that both changed her life and inspired her to share her experience with others. She shares her story:

It started with Joe. My elderly neighbor had lost his wife and his only child lived in New Jersey. He was totally deaf. How could I not help? My children were then young, and we adopted Joe. How could I have known he would become my charge for over five years? After Joe’s death, my own elders started falling like dominos into my care. First, my childless aunt and uncle moved to Fargo, North Dakota, where my family lived and still lives, to be closer to all of us. Then the strokes began with Uncle Wilkes. Then it was my in-laws and my parents. At one time, I was running between care-settings seven hours a day, seven days a week, helping elders, while caring for my own sons, one of whom has chronic health problems.

Sharing With Others

Carol went on to become a newspaper columnist, published author and well-known expert in the field. Her book Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories is an inspirational guide for caregivers. According to Carol:

Grieving begins when adult children start to see their parents’ decline. They need support through the whole process. “Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories” keeps that support at the caregiver’s fingertips. Three in the morning and you can’t call a friend? No problem. The storytellers in the book understand. Read one story. Read two. Feel the comfort and support of others who have gotten through this. Tomorrow is another day.

As a subscriber to her blog, I personally look forward to each of her posts. They uncover new information and provide expert advice for the issues I face on a daily basis.

For those of you in a caregiving situation, I recommend you take a look at Minding Our Elders.

Filed Under: Assisted Living, Reviews Tagged With: , ,
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