We interrupt this hurricane to give you the following important announcement. Toolkit for Caregivers, is now published and available for purchase on Amazon! As a bonus, a second book – Toolkit for Caregiver Survival – is included. That’s right. Two books for the price of one and under one cover!
If you are young, healthy, and thinking that becoming a caregiver to your parents or spouse is decades away, the bonus book is for you now. There’s a way to approach caregiving that will make future family dynamic transitions less traumatic for all involved.
You see, we never know when that job description of “caregiver” will be plopped into our laps. Sometimes a slow aging process or predictable disease progression is not what happens.
Sometimes life turns on a dime, and we find ourselves assisting a loved one healing from a sudden accident or surgery.
Sometimes, after a brief period of not feeling well, we are hit with a crushing diagnosis.
Being a caregiver to a loved one at home is not reserved for grandma helping grandpa in his 90s. In fact, the average age of caregivers of loved ones at home is 49 years old.
The new term coined by the Hospice Foundation of America is “Silver Tsunami.” This tidal wave of Baby Boomers becoming Medicare eligible at a rate of 10,000 a day is not only going to need the services of a loving family caregiver, but is also going to become a caregiver for someone at home in the future.
This represents a double-edged sword for the Baby Boomers AND creates family transitions across the generations. Truly, no one is immune from caregiving issues.
The five-star reviews are coming in for this new release, and reflect readers’ appreciation of the information provided in this double book.
Why don’t you check it out yourself here:
The preview feature will give you a meaningful peek inside. You will notice from the table of contents, I have made every effort to answer caregiver concerns that no other book does.
Whether you are decades away from becoming a caregiver to a loved one, or you are starting to see the handwriting on the wall and know you may be entering the world of caregiving, this double offering of Toolkit for Caregivers will guide you through the most challenging job description ever given to someone.
These tips, skills, and wisdom for before, during and after will become a lifeline so you can avoid common pitfalls, make your loved one more comfortable, and enable you to maximize the time you have together.
Toolkit for Caregivers is for you. It’s for your friends and family. It’s for your doctor, nurse. It’s for your home health and Hospice agency. It’s helpful for funeral homes as they support those in pre-planning or those just new to grieving. There’s something for everybody.
Foodtalk4you is all about sharing useful information. I decline offers to monetize this site because I do not want to keep hounding my readers with pop-up ads, op-ins, and buy-this-now offers. I just want to share pertinent information that could make a difference in improving life.
Please share this book link with some of the 40 million plus caregivers of loved ones at home, your families and friends, and with those individuals and organizations that ultimately serve caregivers.
My immediate sharing goals include local presentations to groups in the Carolinas. Because I am just one person, there is an on-line option for Caregiver Workshops that I will be exploring. Anyone interested in a Caregiver Workshop with a book signing, please contact me at: Deidre@ToolkitsForHealth.com.
Now, let’s return to our Hurricane Dorian coverage on the Weather Channel.
Our life in the Carolinas could radically change this week.
Prayers that my lovely historical town will not get flooded again; we are still rebuilding after last year’s Florence.
In health-
Deidre
tempting. A great gift idea, too. Haven’t taken that swab plunge yet, but sometimes a very Nordic, “Yah,” periodically comes out of my mouth that I wonder, “where did that come from?”
what I mean: some ‘random’ thing that leads to something else that leads to something else? The dominoes keep tipping over in a beautiful opening of blessings?
One evening, we dined with an Amish family who served traditional Amish fare supplied by a local restaurant and who opened up for an honest and frank question and answer period. As a personal thank you gift, I gave her a signed copy of my book, Toolkit for Wellness, as a gesture of sharing, in kind, a bit of myself.
when her husband had died in 2010, but that she waited two years to read it. She said that reading the book, When God Winks at You, changed her life.
accident that you just picked up When God Winks. In fact, you may have suspected all along that there is more to coincidence than meets the eye. These seemingly random events are actually sign posts that can help you successfully navigate your career, relationships, and interests. By recognizing the God winks our Creator sometimes places in our paths, we can understand—and embrace—the journey God has laid out for us.
Speaking of book-giving at Christmas – where did that tradition come from? I have always loved giving and getting books for Christmas. Yah?
items readily available to give as gifts at Christmas. Hence, a strong tradition of book ownership, reading, and Christmas gift preferences.
While change is one of the few constants in this world, it’s the one we tend to like the least. The older we get, the tighter we cling to the old ways and resist anything new.
I have to say that the simple wisdom found in this quick read of Out of the Maze has helped me in my own transitions of late. It’s a great book to pull off the shelf at the start of each New Year as we all move forward with our lives and pause to reflect on our progress or to consider if we are ‘stuck’ in a maze.
targeted to be ‘food’ for your mind, body, and spirit.
Thanksgiving? Leftovers may be my favorite part of the holiday, so it seems appropriate to have savored my Cranberry Secret Sauce over some peanut butter on gluten free toast for breakfast today.
Check last week’s post to keep that tasty and versatile jewel of redness around for the whole holiday season.
bacterial hand soap.
Finally, Bath and Body Works and other purveyors of “soap-ness,” have returned to offering most of their wares in the non-antibacterial form. Excellent!
squirt-top container, I discovered regular liquid is too thick to go through the apparatus. What to do? I tried diluting the liquid – one-part soap to 2-3 parts water – guess what? Foaming soap! Think of all the water I had been buying all those years.
No matter what soap we use, the trick is in proper handwashing technique. Rub, rub, rub those dirty paws thoroughly. Get to all surfaces of the hands, between fingers, and scrape your nails along the palm of the opposite hand to drive the soap bubbles underneath them. The rubbing process with soapy hands should last for 15-20 seconds or two hums of the Happy Birthday song.
truly proper handwashing, coupled with not touching your face, will break that hand-to-mouth/eye/nose circle of germ circulation.
Today’s next tidbit is something I’ve successfully employed in my recovery from being in a hypervigilant state for the past two years – even longer, as I endeavored to be “on-the-ready” for my husband’s changing needs.
mean our nervous systems magically switch to a normal maintenance mode. Some of my symptoms were manifesting as an irregular heartbeat at bedtime.
Maybe you, too, are trying to come off of a hypervigilant state. Whether it’s a different living circumstance, a change in jobs, or a change in relationships, converting to a calmer state of mind is not easy. Others may wonder why you may be having a rough time since the “problem” has been eliminated.
While I am still very much a work in progress, I would like to share a bit of success that may help you, too. Curing hypervigilance and anxiety requires a multi-faceted approach, often with professional counselors, but this may be a starting point for you.
This is how that went for me – here comes that nightly tension; I’m feeling those strong erratic beats of my heart which causes more anxiety – and instead of the usual tailspin, I applied alternate thinking.
quiet breathing.
Remember to be “off screen” before bed each night; the blue light of electronic screens is detrimental to the production of sleep-inducing hormones. Read something relaxing and helpful from a good old-fashioned printed book. It can be part of your winding-down routine for a good night’s sleep.
working is a big job. While post-hurricane mold spores swirl in the air along with the usual mix of wintertime viruses, many of us are walking a thin line between health and vocal collapse.
I’ve cheated the all-night simmering of chicken bones with large boxes of organic, free range, chicken bone broth.
2 chicken thighs
and recipes with my readers escaped me. Earlier this year, I pushed through the pressing personal concerns surrounding me to nurture the creative process, but I have sort of let you down of late. Apologies.
windows. Why, even doing dishes is fun while glancing up to appreciate my own little Eden.
When there’s a song in your heart, you sing – right?
Have you noticed the paleo writers all seem to have a side hustle about “Keto” related? After writing how-to books, recipe books, and countless blogs, my favorite paleo gurus are now on the Ketogenic bandwagon. Their new book releases all sport Keto-friendly labels. Their latest products are “Keto-centric” as well- meaning, they are totally focused on low-carb, high-fat foods.
Friend: Sodium is another weight adder. I recently had a cheat day where lunch was a cheeseburger with chili cheese fries followed by Chinese for dinner. I woke up the next day 7 pounds heavier! Couldn’t believe it. Went back on the good diet and lost all that water weight in three days
