Music Therapy for the Elderly

According to the American Music Therapy Association, Music Therapy is defined as the following:

“Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.”

Music is something that isn’t always thought of in a clinical sense, but the benefits of music therapy can be incredible. Music therapy can be especially helpful in the senior citizen population.

For the elderly, music therapy can help in numerous ways. In 2012 a YouTube video of an elderly man named Henry went viral on YouTube. At the beginning of the video, he was unresponsive, but with the aid of a set of headphones and some music he became animated and responsive. This served as a reminder that music therapy is an incredible tool when working with the elderly.

Here are some of the things that music therapy can do:

• Listening to music will help to ease anxiety in older patients.

• Lyric writing and singing can help with the expression of different emotions and feelings.

• Music can help strengthen the immune system.

• Listening to music releases dopamine, which is associated with pleasure.

• It is incredibly helpful for individuals who are non-verbal. Music crosses all communication barriers, so it can be especially helpful with individuals who have suffered a stroke or are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

• For older patients, music is linked with memories, so it can stimulate memories, increase awareness and initiate emotional responses.

If you know of an elderly individual who may benefit from music therapy, you can reach out to a local music therapist. Additionally, you could sit with your elderly loved one and make a playlist of different songs they enjoy. You can spend time listening to the music with your elderly loved one and both reap the benefits of music!

For more information on music therapy, you can visit these websites:

CNN Health: When patients have ‘music emergencies’ 

NPR: For Elders With Dementia, Musical Awakenings 

American Music Therapy Association

Outdoor Activity: Gardening

This week, we want to write about gardening. In the past, we’ve written about it as a way for caregivers to relieve stress. In this post, we’re going to focus on how gardening can help the elderly and why it is such a great activity for them.

It’s a wonderful summer activity because it will help to get your elderly loved ones outside. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, being outside can increase vitamin D levels, it can improve mood, and it will increase concentration. Lastly, gardening specifically can help elevate moods. According to a study in Neuroscience, gardening increases cortisol levels and a bacteria in soil helps to increase serotonin production in the brain. All of these will directly benefit your elderly loved one.

Additionally, gardening is a low impact activity, so it’s a great way to incorporate some activity in your elderly loved one’s day without taxing them too much. Additionally, gardening can encompass a wide range of activities from planting individual seeds to pruning roses. This allows caregivers to modify the activity and tailor the activity to their elderly loved one’s needs. For example, if your loved one is unable to kneel down, then planting seeds in individual pots might be the best option. If they don’t feel like doing that, you can have your elderly loved one sit in a lawn chair and prune taller plants.

Lastly, you can click here for a great video from NBC Today about different assistive technologies that are directed at helping the elderly garden.

Employers, Support Working Caregivers to Help Your Business

According to AARP, currently 61% of family caregivers work full-time or part-time. What’s even more surprising is that 19% of retirees stopped working because of their caregiving responsibilities, and an incredibly 68% have had to make work-place accommodations as a result of their caregiving responsibilities.

These figures are incredible. Furthermore, businesses will be affected because this figure is growing every single day. This is going to negatively impact businesses if they’re not prepared, and, at the same time, this is an incredible opportunity for employers to prove to their employees that their dedicated to their well-being. Employers can support their caregiver employers in multiple ways. Here are some suggestions for employers, from most basic to most comprehensive:

1. Employers should talk to their employees and try to understand what they’re going through. They should encourage them to communicate what is going on in their life with upper management and their immediate supervisors.

2. As much as their position allows, employers should strive to be flexible in scheduling. It’s important to understand that, for caregivers, a 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. job won’t allow them to meet some of their caregiving responsibilities and will add stress.

 3. If employers know of multiple working caregivers within their organization, they can encourage any caregiver employees to talk to each other, as they both may have resources that will be beneficial to the other one.

 4. If their caregiving responsibilities become too intense, employers can encourage them to explore their options within the company, such as FMLA.

The best option for a company is to find an outside eldercare expert to provide support and guidance to their employees. Employers should consider adopting an elder care support program, such as WeCare+. This option allows the company to support the individuals while realizing they may not have all of the tools able to support the individuals.

All of these are a step in the right direction, and will allow caregiver employees to continue working and to continue to provide support for their ailing or aging loved one. You can learn more about our program here.

The Full Emotional, Mental, and Physical Impact of Caregiving

When discussing caregiving, it’s easy to separate the different ways caregiving impacts caregivers. The reality is that it impacts all aspects of one’s life. Whether it’s a sudden leap or a gradual transition into caregiving, at some point, any caregiver will tell you that their caregiving duties have affected their life on every level. We’ve written separately about the different impacts of caregiving, so we thought it would be a good idea to combine all of these into one post because that is how a caregiver experiences it. Their caregiving duties don’t first affect their physical health, then their mental. It’s all at once and it’s all happening simultaneously. Here are some of the basic ways that caregiving impacts people.

How does caregiving affect individuals physically?

Caregivers are impacted on a physical level for a couple of reasons. First, they are responsible for providing care to their ailing or aging loved one. This can be physically taxing and exhausting. Whether they’re caring for someone who needs help with all activities of daily living or a few, there’s no discounting the amount of exhaustion that comes along with this continuous work. It takes physical strength to help dress someone or to help transport them from a bed to a wheelchair. This round the clock care is simply exhausting.

 Aside from physical exhaustion, caregiving can impact the physical health of the caregiver. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, caregivers have higher incidences of several physical illnesses. They have a higher incidence of heart disease, various physical illnesses such as aches and pain, and they have a higher rate of mortality. Furthermore, many caregivers will put their loved one’s care before their own. This can leave many illnesses untreated and also render a lot of preventative care useless.

How does caregiving affect individuals mentally?

Caregiving is mentally draining. It’s difficult to manage somebody else’s care. Caregivers are constantly managing the schedule of their ailing or aging loved ones, and they have to be cognizant of an incredible amount of information at once. They need to remember physician appointments, medication interactions, individual diagnoses, prescription refills, budgets, dietary restrictions and more.

Additionally, they also experience a higher rate of mental illness. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, caregivers are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms, suffer from anxiety, and experience other mental illnesses. Furthermore, because the caregivers are so focused on their ailing or aging loved one, many of these symptoms remain untreated. This isn’t limited to the period that they provide care, and it can last after the caregiver has relinquished their caregiver duties.

What are the emotional impacts of caregiving?

Caregivers experience a wide range of emotions. Caregivers do the most amazing work and provide incredible unparalleled care for their ailing or aging loved ones, but it is incredibly difficult to watch the health of an ailing or aging loved one gradually fail. This can cause incredible amounts of sadness in individuals, as well as some feelings of helplessness, frustration and anger. The other major emotion involved in caregiving is guilt. Caregivers will blame themselves for wanting time off, and will beat themselves up for leaving the side of their ailing or aging loved one.

Caregivers need more support – from society and from their employers. It’s an incredibly difficult task to undertake, and these brave individuals are impacted in every possible way. If you know any caregivers, offer them a helping hand or a friend to talk to.

Vacationing with your Elderly Loved Ones

With all of the major holidays over, it’s likely that you’ll be traveling with your elderly loved ones. Traveling with the elderly can seem like a daunting task, but there are two things to remember: plan ahead and allow yourself extra time.

Plan ahead! Call the airport, train station, or bus station before you and your elderly depart. Find out what information they’ll need to get through security, what things they can and can’t bring with them, and any additional physician documentation you may need. Don’t wait until the last minute to pack, and set up a packing scheduling for your elderly loved ones. It’s never a good idea to rush through packing.

Secondly, figure out how much time you think it will take you and your elderly loved one to get from your home to your seats on the plane, train or bus. Now, take that number, and add at least an hour. Chances are, you will hit some sort of obstacle. There may be a large line at the airport, you could forget your tickets and have to get them reprinted, or there may just be traffic getting to your location. Rushing will only make your traveling experience more stressful, so give yourself a break with extra time.

Here are some great resources for you to look at before setting out on your journey:

AgingCare.com: Traveling with the Elderly

New York Times: Flying Tips for Older Passengers

USA Today: Travel Tips for the Elderly

Finding the Flu Shot

As we discussed in our previous post, the flu virus is incredibly serious for the elderly. The elderly are especially susceptible to the flu, and they can develop serious complications if they contract it. Furthermore, for elderly people with pre-existing conditions, the flu can be an incredibly dangerous virus to come in contact with because of conditions can develop as a result of it.

You can find a flu vaccine clinic through Flu Near You:  https://flunearyou.org/

Flu Outbreak is Incredibly Dangerous for the Elderly

In Massachusetts, the Mayor of Boston has declared the flu outbreak a public health emergency. According to the release, there have been 700 cases of the flu since October. This is ten times the number of individuals diagnosed with the flu at this time last year. Sadly, the release goes on to say that all four of the individuals who have passed away because of the flu were elderly.

For the elderly population, the flu is incredibly dangerous. Often times, senior communities and elder care facilities will have to quarantine their residents during an outbreak. The reason the flu is so dangerous is because they are at a much higher risk for flu related complications. Anyone over 65 is considered in the high risk category because the immune system weakens with age. Additionally, individuals with chronic illnesses are also considered to be at a higher risk for complications. Many elderly individuals are also dealing with chronic illnesses, so this puts many of them at an incredibly high risk. When these high risk individuals develop the flu, it can result in serious complications such as:

 - Pneumonia
- Bronchitis
- Respiratory infections
- Respiratory failure
- Death

The best defense against the flu is the vaccine. Encourage anyone you know who is over 65 to get the vaccine. Additionally, early recognition of flu symptoms in any elderly loved ones is one of the best ways to prevent complications. If your elderly loved one starts complaining of the following symptoms, they may be developing the flu.

 - Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Muscle aches
- Sore throat

If your elderly loved one starts experiencing these symptoms, contact their doctor immediately. Aside from complications from the flu, colds in general can cause dehydration. Be sure to keep your elderly loved one hydrated with drinks and nutritious soups.

If you are a caregiver or interact with any elderly on a regular basis, be sure to follow several precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the flu.

- Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly
- Keep your hands away from your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth
- Cover your moth when coughing
- Avoid any friends who may be suffering from the flu

If you want more information about the flu, take a look at the CDC’s website dedicated to the Seasonal Flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

Preparing Your Elderly Loved One for the Winter

Every year, we write about winter safety for the elderly. Why? It’s an incredibly important topic, for a couple of reasons. First, the harsh storms and cold weather associated with winter can be very dangerous for the elderly. Secondly, there is a lot of preparation work that needs to be done in and around the home to prepare for winter. This work can be physically taxing and difficult for the elderly, and they may not be able to complete it before winter sets in.

Tips for keeping outside walkways safe and clear: 

 • To avoid falls, put canisters full of kitty litter, sand, salt and gravel at the top of each set of outside stairs. This way, your elderly loved one can easily throw the mixture over any icy patches.

• Contact your elderly loved one’s neighbors. If you can’t be there following a snow storm, have their phone numbers handy and ask them to check on your senior. In addition, pay the neighbor’s son to shovel your ailing or aging loved one’s walkways after a storm.

• Go through your elderly loved one’s home and check all outside railings. Make sure that they are sturdy and that your elderly loved one can easily grab on to on them while walking on anything slippery.

Tips for preparing the house for winter:

• Give your elderly loved one extra blankets, scarves, hats and mittens. This way, if the heat goes out they will still remain warm.

• Check carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, and replace any old batteries.

• Have a professional check the heating system in your elderly loved one’s home. In addition to that, clear any clutter away from heating vents to prevent fires.

General safety tips:

• Stock up on non-perishable goods, and have at least a few gallons of water in an easily accessibly place.

• Make sure that all batteries in flashlights have been replaced, and make sure that candles and matches are easily accessible.

• Lastly, ensure that your elderly loved one has an extra prescription of any necessary medications available in case they get snowed in.

The most important thing to remember is to stay in constant communication with your ailing or aging loved one!

5 Things Working Caregivers Should Do

As we’ve reiterated before, it’s incredibly hard to maintain a full-time job while providing care for an ailing or aging loved one. However, there are some things that working caregivers can do to help avoid burnout and promote balance in their life.

1. Working caregivers need to communicate honestly and openly with their employers. The only way employers can help their caregiver employees is if they know about their caregiving duties. Furthermore, most employers don’t completely understand what goes into full-time caregiving. Working caregivers should tell their employer everything that is going on in their caregiving situation, as well as the amount of time that they have to dedicate to their caregiver duties. Also, this communication needs to be continuous. Working caregivers need to keep their employers in the loop, and let them know when their ailing or aging loved one isn’t doing well. That way, there will be no unexpected surprises if the working caregiver has to leave to go to the hospital or bring their ailing or aging loved one to the doctor.

2. They can also talk to the person they’re caring for. Working caregivers need to remember to talk to their ailing or aging loved one. Usually, caregivers blame themselves and feel guilty if they aren’t dedicated 100% of their time to their ailing or aging loved one. However, if the working caregiver is regularly communicating with their ailing or aging loved one, they can take time for work or themselves without feeling guilty. Communicating their needs will help their ailing or aging loved one is incredibly important to avoiding burnout.

3. Working caregivers need to remember their friends and families. Working caregivers are usually so caught up in their responsibilities that they forget to ask for help. Remind any working caregivers that their friends and family are always available to help, even though they may not be the primary caregivers. If the caregiver isn’t comfortable relinquishing any of their caregiving duties, they can ask for help with running errands for themselves or picking up prescriptions.

4. Working caregivers have to take time to themselves. This is probably the most important thing that a working caregiver can do to prevent burnout. It doesn’t mean every working caregiver needs to take a week vacation immediately, but they do need to start committing at least 15 minutes a day to time alone.

 5. Talk to your employer about other options. Many employers offer eldercare support programs. Here at Long Term Solutions, we offer one of those programs to employers called WeCare+. It is a unique program that is specifically designed to help working caregivers find support and balance. While some employers don’t offer eldercare specific programs, they may offer flextime, telecommuting options, and more.

To learn more about Long Term Solutions and WeCare+, you can visit our website by clicking here.

Rising Cost of Nursing Homes

This year, Genworth Financial released their 9^th annual Cost of Care Survey. The results serve as a perfect microscope to examine the cost of care state by state, and to understand emerging trends in the cost of care. One of the most striking figures is the cost of a nursing home and their expected increase in price.

In the study, the facilities are broken down into three categories: assisted living facility, nursing home(semi-private room) and nursing home (private room). For this article, we are just focusing on nursing home stays in a semi-private room. Nationwide, the average nursing home costs $200 a day. This figure has increased 3.63% in 2011, and over the next five years it is expected to grow 4.5%.

 Across the United States, it looks like this trend stays true for each state, with some regions being more expensive than others:

•  The North East has some of the most expensive care. In Massachusetts a nursing home stay costs $322 a day, and $117,530 a year. 
•  The cost of care in the West Coast is cheaper than the North East, but is still above the national average. In California a nursing home stay costs $224 a day, and $81,760 a year. 
• Nursing homes in the South are slightly above the national average. 
• In Florida, a nursing home stay costs $215 a day, and $78,475 a year
• The Midwest also is slightly below the national average, with a nursing home in Indiana costing $187 a day, and $68,255 a year.
• The most expensive nursing homes can be found in Alaska, with a nursing home costing $273,750 a year.
• The cheapest nursing homes can be found in Texas with nursing homes costing $47,450 a year.

What does this mean for caregivers? Already, more and more family members are fulfilling the role of caregiver due to the cost of healthcare. With the costs of facility focused care expected to increase at an average of $15,300 a year, more and more family members will become caregivers because facility based care is just too unaffordable.

You can compare costs in your state and others at Genworth’s website, here

Balancing Caregiving and Employment

At LTS, we understand how caregiving responsibilities can impact careers. The nature of caregiving responsibilities can change from day to day, and, often times, caregivers find themselves doing a variety of tasks for their loved ones. Sometimes, employers aren’t aware of the different challenges caregivers face.

Here are some of the things that caregivers regularly find themselves helping with:

• Managing medications
• Communicating with their loved one’s physicians
• Scheduling doctors’ appointments
• Transporting their ailing or aging loved one to these appointments
• Grocery shopping for their ailing or aging loved one
• Cooking meals
• Managing finances
• Providing social interaction
• Providing emotional support

These are just some of the tasks that caregivers are involved in. Furthermore, their caregiving responsibilities are dependent upon the health of their ailing or aging loved ones, and the responsibilities increase if their loved one’s health begins to fail. With that in mind, let’s discuss some possible ways caregivers can help to balance some of the responsibilities involved with caregiving and their career.  
 
Communication is perhaps one of the most important things that a working caregiver can do to achieve balance. The communication works in two ways. First, working caregivers should keep their employers informed. This way, the employer will know what is going on and will not be blindsided or upset if the working caregiver has to step out for a family emergency. One important thing to note is that employers need to be open to this information, and employers need to be willing to help their employees through this difficult time. Secondly, working caregivers need to communicate their needs. Working caregivers can express what they need from the employer, whether it be more flexible scheduling, some time off, or a lighter workload. In addition to communicating with employers, working caregivers can find solace and, often, a helping hand if they keep their friends and family informed.   

The second most important tool in working to achieve caregiver work life balance is having time off. Any working caregiver will immediately say this is next to impossible, but it is truly a necessity for balance. A week-long vacation may be hard to schedule, but working caregivers must block out at least 15 minutes a day to themselves. This 15 minutes will allow the working caregivers time to get everything off of their mind, and, also, to avoid burnout. 

Lastly, working caregivers should ask for help. This is another form of communication, but it is usually more difficult for some caregivers to do than simply talking about what they’re going through. However, working caregivers need to ask for help when feeling overwhelmed. This help can come in a variety of ways and doesn’t necessarily have to be related to their caregiving responsibilities. Perhaps it is making a meal for them, running some errands around town, or picking up their children from school. All of these things help to reduce some of the burden put on working caregivers, and it will keep the caregivers from become burnt out.

Using these three tools can help working caregivers achieve balance with their careers and caregiving responsibilities.

Caregivers at LTS: Brenda

“What I really love about working on the administrative side of Long Term Solutions is that at the end of the day I know the work we do is helping someone,” explained Brenda. “At the other end of the phone or on the other end of the assessment is someone who we’re helping. There’s a person behind every claim number.”

Caregiving is something Brenda has been doing full-time since 2000, and, because of this, she is really able to relate to the adult caregivers she talks to on the phone every day.

“Caregiving is very hard, but I’ve found that one line really helps the adult caregivers: 'it’s not easy raising a parent,'” said Brenda laughing.

This lighthearted humor is a part of her family, and she’s incorporated this into her caregiving duties. In 2001, when Brenda was just 36, her mother was diagnosed with sarcoidosis of the lungs, and eventually became wheelchair bound and required constant oxygen. Her father’s vision started failing and he was legally blind by 2001. Between 2001 and 2004, Brenda primarily looked after her mother because her mother continued to help with her father’s care, despite her worsening condition.

“They really complimented each other and that’s why their marriage was so successful. They were best friends. As they aged, their joke was that my mother was my father’s eyes, and my father was my mother’s legs, so together they would be a complete person,” said Brenda smiling.

Unfortunately, Brenda’s mother’s condition worsened in 2004 and she became very ill. Before she passed away, Brenda promised to watch after her mother’s husband and best friend. 

“I said ‘you can go and be at peace, I will always take care of dad. I want you to know that,’” explained Brenda. “I feel like it is an honor to do, as much as it can sometimes be frustrating.”

That is a promise that Brenda has fulfilled two-fold, and in 2004 she became the full-time caregiver for her father. Prior to her mother’s passing, she had moved in with her parents to provide better care for them. They lived in a home in Connecticut, and then together in a ranch house in Florida. After Brenda’s mother passed away, it was very painful for her father to live in the house he had shared with his wife. Brenda decided that they should move back to New England. They moved to Massachusetts in December 2006.

“Now we’re in a condo, and in a condo, you don’t have a lot of personal space,” said Brenda laughing. “It’s difficult at times. For example, if you don’t want to listen to the music my dad is listening to you don’t really have a choice. I’ve listened to a lot of Eva Cassidy.”

With her father’s diagnosis, it can be difficult for him to leave the house. He gave up driving about six months after he realized his vision was failing. Brenda has a difficult time encouraging him to leave the house because he has a natural tendency to be somewhat reclusive.

“He isolates himself at home, so, in a lot of ways, I’m his only social outlet in addition to being his full-time caretaker. I don’t get upset, but sometimes it gets to you.”

Instead of finding activities at the local senior center, he opts to spend most of his time with their miniature schnauzer, Maddie. She is 12-years-old, and also lost her vision this past year. The pair spends their day together, and they’ve worked out quite a schedule. The two go outside walking, and her father will take his seated walker and watch Maddie as she walks around. The two then make their way down the road to the gas station to buy scratch tickets, and then to Dunkin Donuts for lunch. In addition to their outside activities, they spend some of their day watching Home Shopping Network and researching their family tree with a computer that has been adapted to compensate for his reduced vision.

“I never realized that, until my mom passed away, my mom kept my father really in control and grounded. Without her, if left to his own devices, he will really do some silly, silly things,” joked Brenda. 

However, Brenda has worked incredibly hard to help her father maintain a sense of independence.

“That’s one of the things I always think about. How can I provide him with some independence? I always give him options for dinner, for example. I like him to have some control. It’s very hard to feel like you’re losing your independence, especially for men.”

From ensuring that the carpeting in their condo was flush with the walls and level with the hardwood floors so that her father wouldn’t trip, to hunting down a specialized stove to allow her father to cook, Brenda has actively pushed to provide her father with this independence. Brenda is now preparing to remodel their bathroom to make the shower more accessible.

“Well, the most rewarding thing about caregiving is knowing that my dad is happy where he is, and knowing that the quality of life that I’m able to give him is appreciated,” explained Brenda.

It’s this perspective and appreciation that has helped Brenda while working with other adult caregivers.

“My experience with my dad has really helped me. When the caregivers are stressed out, I know it helps just to have someone listening to them and telling them that we are there for them. I always say how lucky their parents are to have them as an advocate, and how wonderful it is that they take the time to be involved in their parent’s care,” explained Brenda. “It’s not easy for them. But, it can help if you put it into perspective – how much your parents did for you, and how much you can give back.”

5 Tips for Saying 'No'

As a caregiver, you probably have a natural inclination to say yes to every request for your time and assistance. This blog post is going to serve as a friendly reminder that you don’t have to always say yes, and it is okay to say no. Here are some tips for saying no:

1. Appreciate how much time you’re dedicating to caregiving, and accept that you are very busy. Once you acknowledge your jam packed schedule, it will be easier to say no.

2. Take time to think about a request. It’s okay to tell a friend that you need to check your schedule and get back to them. Avoid impulsively saying yes to everything.

3. Accept the request, but reschedule it to fit into your schedule. Practice saying things such as “I’m sorry, I can’t help you on Friday, but I could give you a hand on Monday.”

4. Practice saying no. Start with little requests, and eventually you’ll feel more comfortable saying no.

5. Quiet that voice in your head and stop feeling guilty. People won’t think you are rude or selfish if you say no.

Elderly and Strength Training

Activity is incredibly important for the elderly. According to the CDC, if you are over 65, you should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderately intense aerobic activity and strength training at least two days a week.

Over the past few months, there has been more and more research highlighting the great health benefits seniors can gain from weight training.  In the most recent research, strength training was credited with preventing Alzheimer’s, dementia and cognitive decline. In addition to mental benefits, weight training can help seniors strengthen their bones, reduce their risk of falling, and contribute to heart health. Furthermore, according to the CDC, strength training has been credited with helping to reduce disease and symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, back pain and depression.

For more information on strength training and exercise ideas, visit the links below:

CDC: Growing Stronger – Strength Training for Older Adults

About.com: Dumbbell Strength Training for Seniors

We Are Caregivers Too: Meet Nancy

“She was just sobbing. She walked down the hall of her nursing home and told every nurse and patient ‘my husband has died… did you know my husband died?’” remembers Nancy.

Nancy and her brother had just told their mother that their father and her husband had died. Nancy's mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease five years ago, and her husband had been the primary caregiver for almost four years. But in September 2011 he fell ill and within four months Nancy lost him to renal failure.

Nancy and her brother stayed in their mother’s room as she grieved with the staff and patients in her nursing home.

“I just couldn’t stop crying. I lost that comfort of my parents. No matter how old you are it’s hard. You’re always a child and they’re always a parent.”

Nancy is not a weak woman. She is a nurse, a care coordinator at Long Term Solutions, a caregiver, a mother, a competitive sailor, and, up until recently, was legally blind. She was born with ocular albinism with nystagmus, a genetic condition which results in impaired vision. In September 2007, Nancy’s vision had unexpectedly decreased significantly, and she found herself at the Carroll Center for the Blind.

While at the Carroll Center, Nancy found her passion in competitive sailing with the SailBlind team. She went on to sail in the Blind Nationals, winning two first place titles and a second place title with the team. She recently competed with the team in California, and she was able to travel to New Zealand as an alternate with the team, which is commemorated on her leg in the form of a tattoo.

She learned to live with her vision impairments for three years, until she received a life altering surgery on December 10, 2010. Following the surgery, her vision drastically increased. She was able to read, see colors and see during the day. However, she is still unable to drive or see at night, and can only get around with the help of Giggs, her service dog. During all of this, Nancy became a caregiver, and her journey into caregiving began with her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

“She was first diagnosed five years ago, maybe it was longer. It just seems like all of a sudden she progressed. She’s young. She’s only 81,” she said.

At first, her father assumed the role of primary caregiver. He was a cancer survivor with one kidney, but he was strong and able to care for Nancy’s mother. Her mother suffered from confusion, she would wander, and she couldn’t be left alone. Her father assumed all of those responsibilities and more. He would pick out her outfits, make her meals, and he was always by her side. He made it possible for them to stay in their home, which was where her mother felt most comfortable.

This all changed in September 2011. Nancy was visiting when her father began complaining of chest pain. Nancy checked his vitals. He was quickly decreasing. She called 911, and her father was hospitalized for a possible cardiac issue. Since her father had been the primary caregiver, Nancy and her siblings weren’t completely prepared to take care of their mother, so they enrolled her into respite care at a local nursing home.

“After that, he was discharged to home. He didn’t do too well. We think it might have been the separation,” explained Nancy.

It wasn’t long before her father fell ill again. On Thanksgiving, Nancy received another call from her father. He was extremely confused and disoriented. He didn’t know where he was, and Nancy couldn’t understand what he was saying. She knew something was very wrong, so she immediately called her sister on another line and then 911 to send an ambulance to her father.

“I was sobbing out loud. I just couldn’t help it. He had been so healthy and so strong,” she said.

He was brought to the hospital again. In an effort to help her father recover, Nancy and her siblings decided to transfer him into the nursing home to be with her mother.

“He was separated from my mom, and the love of his life. As difficult as it was for him to be the caregiver, when they were apart for that short time, he gave up on his own life,” explained Nancy.

On December 9, 2011 Nancy received seven calls from her father in the middle of the night because he was in a lot of pain, so on December 10, 2011 she drove out to the nursing home. The first thing she did was request his health information, and, a year after her surgery allowed her to read, she read that her father was in renal failure.

“I called my brothers and sisters and said he’s going back home. They said ‘what are you talking about? We’ll get him home for Christmas.’ And I said, ‘he’s not going to make it to the first of the year’,” explained Nancy.

Nancy’s father refused to be transported to the emergency room for treatment, so Nancy tried calling multiple nephrologists to see if they could begin dialysis immediately. Neither of those worked, so Nancy and her sister watched as her father signed his own DNR order. The next day, he went home on hospice.

“It was the wonderful support of my peers, managers and the owners of Long Term Solutions that gave me the strength to keep going,” explained Nancy.

Nancy stayed with her daughter, and she commuted to work from her home town daily. Due to her vision impairment, she couldn’t drive in the dark. With the short winter days, she would leave her daughter’s home at 6:00 a.m., and, with the encouragement of her manager and peers, leave work in the afternoon to drive back to her father.

“They were so good to me. They really cared. Every morning I would wake up and I would have a message from my manager asking how things were going. I would call her back, and I just couldn’t control my crying,” said Nancy.

Nancy’s last day with her father was on December 29, 2011. Nancy went in to see her father at 5:00 p.m. on that day, and then went to meet her sisters for some dinner.

“I went back to be with him. I walked in the door, looked at him and thought ‘he’s going to die right now.’”
Nancy’s service dog, Giggs, ran under her father’s bed, while Nancy held her father as he took his last couple of breaths.

Nancy watched as her father, who was the primary caregiver for her mother, passed away.

In order to pay for their mother’s care, Nancy and her siblings had to sell their childhood home. It took them weeks to sort through everything, from the pins that her mother used to wear to German Hummel dolls her father had purchased for their mother.

“I wish I could bring her home to me, but I know it’s impossible. It’s so hard because I know I can’t see her for a while because I can’t drive there. I just don’t know when I can drive there.”

Caregiver Stress Relief: Walking

For caregivers, taking a break can be incredibly difficult, and it can be next to impossible to incorporate a workout into the day. Exercising is crucial to stress relief and physical health, and for a caregiver, stress relief is top priority. That’s why walking is a great exercise option for caregivers.

Walking is a great fit for many reasons. First off, it doesn’t require a gym. You can walk anywhere and anytime without having to worry about setting time aside to drive to a gym or fitness class. Secondly, it’s an opportunity to have some time alone, which can be difficult to find as a caregiver. On the other hand, caregivers can walk with a buddy to incorporate some social interaction into their day. Whether walking alone or with a friend, the stress relief and mental health benefits are incredibly important. Lastly, there are numerous physical health benefits. Here are some from the Mayo Clinic:

• Lowers blood pressure
• Increases HDLs and lowers LDLs
• Reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes
• Is good for weight maintenance
• Increases strength

For more information on walking, take a look at this information from the Mayo Clinic by clicking here.

Caregivers at LTS: Debbie

 “Where’s the nurse?” demanded a young and visibly stressed doctor.

Debbie was in a hospital room with her mother and two other nurses. Her mother had developed the flu and pneumonia simultaneously, and they were at the ER for the second time.

“No, where’s the nurse? The family member who is a nurse,” he insisted.

The nurses looked at each other, confused. Debbie was the nurse he was referring to, but she remained silent.

“I didn’t answer. I wanted to be called a family member and not a nurse,” she explained. “I am a nurse, but I’m also a daughter. Treat me as a daughter. I can’t visit my parents as a daughter. I have to always visit them as a nurse."

This struggle between being a daughter versus a nurse has been a source of great frustration. Being a caregiver is incredibly stressful, and being a nurse as well as a caregiver creates an additional stress. With her experience in nursing and working with caregivers, she was the perfect person to care for her parents. She knew about all of the resources. She knew about medical procedures. She knew what to expect as a caregiver. But, her role as her parent’s nurse quickly overshadowed her role as a daughter - a role she sometimes wishes she could get back. 

“It puts a lot of stress on me. I want to be there for the remainder of their lives having a cup of coffee, watching a movie, just sitting and not talking about making medical decisions,” she explained.

She became a full-time caregiver for two parents almost simultaneously. In November of 2010, her father was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He immediately began chemotherapy treatments, and Debbie was there to drive him to appointments, monitor the side effects of the chemotherapy, and be the nurse. In the middle of all of this, Debbie also became a full-time caregiver for her mother.

Only three months after her father’s diagnosis, in January of 2011, her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She had been complaining of shoulder pain, and her doctor discovered a mass in her lungs. She had to undergo immediate surgery to remove the cancer.

 “I had to find the right surgeon for her, set up the appointments, and advocate for her,” she explained. “All of this was happening simultaneously."

In addition to being a full-time caregiver for two parents, Debbie was working and taking care of her own family. She has a husband, two daughters in college and a son in elementary school.  She was devoting all of her time between work, her family, and her parents.

“During that course, I had to take a family leave. I couldn’t give 100%... and I feel, as an R.N., that I need to give 110% to my family.”

She also made the difficult decision to place her father in a nursing home so she could focus on her mother’s procedure. She knew that her father’s care needs would be addressed in a nursing home, and that combined with her father’s development of aspiration pneumonia, confirmed her decision.

“It was a lot of guilt and conflict because I couldn’t really take care of him in my home. I had to help my mother recover, take care of my son, support my daughters in college and work to pay their tuitions. So, it truly is a sandwich generation situation. And again, it was just me.”

With her father’s needs tended to, her mother underwent the procedure to remove the cancer. While there, she suffered from a weeklong ICU psychosis. Eventually, she was placed into a rehabilitation facility and was able to be move home with in-home help. Following that, with the help of Debbie’s mother and in home care, they were able to move her father back as well.

“We finally got him home. It’s been back and forth, and the hard part of all of this too, I mean it’s all hard, but the ironic part is they both got sick at the same time.”

This past April, Debbie’s father was admitted to the hospital with the flu and pneumonia. Shortly after, her mother was also admitted.

“When it hits, it really hits,” she said laughing.

During all of this, Debbie has strived to find some sort of balance. She took the advice that she gives so many caregivers on a daily basis: she sought outside help. She went to see a family therapist, which helped her put everything back into perspective and reach a balance. She recently starting golfing again, a hobby that she really enjoys. And, she received a tremendous amount of support from her colleagues at Long Term Solutions.

“Working really saved my life. We have our own LTS caregiver support group. We’re all about the same age. We all have parents aging who are in crisis, and we kind of pull for each other at this point."

Right now, her parents are both out of the hospital. Her father is still working with physicians to develop a treatment plan for with cancer, and Debbie can see that her mother is suffering an incredible amount of stress. However, this past week, Debbie didn’t go with them to her father’s oncologist appointment.

“I was going to go, but I’m trying to step back, and let them do it. I have to let them make their own decisions about what they want to do. Before I would have been, ‘I need to be there. You’re their daughter and you’re a nurse, and you didn’t go to that appointment?’ I have to get away from feeling the guilt.” 

Instead, Debbie went to work and made plans to go golfing that night.

Berries Delay Memory Decline

Here’s another great reason to incorporate fruit into your diet: berries may delay memory decline. In a recent study, researchers found that consumption of berries slowed cognitive decline in women 70 or older. In some cases, the cognitive decline was slowed for up to 2.5 years.

Blueberries contain an extremely high amount of flavonoids. These flavonoids are able to cross the blood brain barrier into the hippocampus, which is that part of the brain that is responsible for forming memories and learning. Interestingly, many medications aren’t able to cross this blood brain barrier.

So, be sure to put blueberries on your shopping list this week! You can read the full report here.

Caregivers and Social Media

This week, there has been a lot of discussion about the benefit of social media for caregivers. If you’re a caregiver, social media is a great way create a support group made up of caregivers, and to reconnect with friends and family.

There are many amazing websites that are created specifically to support caregivers, and one of the best features of these websites is the opportunity to vent. Talking to your friends and family can be incredibly helpful, and is a lifesaver on many days, but there is something extremely helpful in venting to a virtual group of caregivers. If you don’t feel like writing about your personal experience, you can read the experience of other caregivers and understand that you’re not alone in your feelings.

Social media is also a perfect way to stay connected with your friends and family. You can stay up to date on everything in their lives, and you can keep them posted on your caregiving duties. The best part about social media is that you don’t have to dedicate your entire day to catching up.

Here is a great piece from HealthyMagination.com with online resources for caregivers: http://www.healthymagination.com/blog/social-media-can-help-reduce-caregiver-stress/

Halting the Stress of Caregiving: Meditation

At Long Term Solutions, we’re constantly examining new techniques to support caregivers in their journey. One great way to manage your wellness is through meditation.  

Now, we don’t mean adding another thing to a list of your ‘to-do’s,’ we don’t mean learning new meditation techniques, and we definitely don’t mean wasting fifteen minutes of your day. We’re talking about meditating on the most basic level possible. It can be as easy as stopping what you’re doing, no matter where you are, and taking five deep breaths. As simple as that! 

One place to try this is waiting for your loved ones during appointments. Caregivers are always shuttling their loved ones to and from doctor’s appointments, so instead of stressing out about the next doctor’s appointment, what’s for dinner, or an overbooked agenda, take some time to meditate. Take five minutes to focus on breathing and not the thoughts scrambling through your head. You don’t have to completely clear your head of thoughts, but just pause them momentarily. 

Incorporating five minutes of meditation into your day will have incredible benefits! Here are six steps to quieting your mind from Huffington Post.