Next Phase

Well...we reached another phase this weekend.
We got Maman a hospital bed. Yep.
I had frankly resisted this for a while, but we were offered one from my sister-in-law who had bought it for my father-in-law before he passed away.
It's actually a great bed, and Maman likes it, so that's good.
It goes up and down. the head and knees both come up, and it has rails...everything you need to keep your 90 year old mother from trying to get out of bed on her own! ;-)

Take care!

Liz

...and the fun continues....

WOW..it has been a while since I posted...I'm sorry about that!...but Caregiving gets in the way of blogging!
As an update....PT went REALLY well...I'm actually in better shape than I was before I bulged-out my disks. I was given some great exercises to do by my Physical Therapist..and What a Concept! I'm actually keeping up with them!

But things with Mom have been a challenge...
In Monday May 14th she decided to try & get out of bed by herself ....not a smart move considering she's paralysed on her right side and is 1 week from turning 90.... Result? Free ambulance ride to the ER....after 4 hours of waiting (ONLY four hours!)...X-rays show a non-displaced fracture of her right shoulder....and she was sent home! I love our health care system....she's in a sling for the next 4 weeks....Orthopedist was seen...had to have a CAT scan done to confirm the x-rays (they were confirmed!)....rails now on her bed...Thank goodness for small favors in that it's her disabled side so she still has use of her "good" left arm.....

Bottom line: transferring is even more of a challenge with this...well...actually EVERYTHING is more of a challenge with this!

The lesson...remember that with Caregiving, things can change in an instant.

I was interviewed for the next issue of TAKE CARE!, the National Family Caregiver's Association newsletter (free to Family Caregivers by the way! go to http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org to sign up for it) and I had just told the reporter that with caregiving, you always have to plan ahead, but then be ready to have those plans change!....Fun, huh! ;-)

Anyway, I plan on getting back to updating on a more regular basis...but then again...plans can always change!....

Hang in there!

Liz

The PT Parade!

Well, PT had started....and boy am I sore!
I have a bunch of home exercises to do...as well as my "normal" caregiving duties to continue.

It's interesting that when my back went out, people told me to "be careful."
Yeah....I'll try, but I still need to get Maman in & out of bed, take her to the bathroom, boost her up in her wheel chair, etc, etc....and I don't always have help available.

So....a caregiver's work is never done! (Although I do thank goodness have some help during the weekdays!)

So, you get hurt, you start to heal & you go on....yep...life as a caregiver! ;-)

Till next time, Peace!

Liz

The Physical Toll of Caregiving

It started routinely enough...

Last Sunday I was boosting Maman up in her wheelchair...and then I proceeded to fall to the floor in pain....It took me 15 minutes to get up off the floor, and that only with the help of my husband.

I had to call a friend to get Maman into bed that night because I could barely move.

An MRI a few days later showed that I now have 2 bulging disks in my lower back (between L3/L4 & L4/L5 for you medical types!). Frankly this really sucks.

I was put on 3 different meds which I stopped 6 days later because of the side effects, so now it's up to me to manage the pain...all while dealing with the reality of still having to care for Maman.

Have you ever noticed that as a caregiver, people tell you to "be careful?" Well, yeah, I'm trying, but the reality is that Maman still needs care & I ned to keep living my life...so I just take it one day at a time...and a glass of wine with dinner (now that I'm off the meds! ;-)

I start PT today...we'll see how much that helps...

How have you dealt with the the physical toll of Caregiving?