Caring Bridge resource makes your life easier

Caring Bridge is what it says it is, a bridge from you (or your loved one) to people who care about your situation. Via the Internet site CaringBridge.org, you can easily communicate updates to people whom you choose to tell.

 

When you want to share a diagnostic test result, it's easy to let people you've designated to receive Caring Bridge updates know the news. Yay, Dad didn't have a stroke! When the oncologist decides on your mother's twelve radiation treatments to begin September 1 and end November 30, you can inform those closest to you of this decision. When you see that Mom feels nauseated for about two days after each Wednesday treatment, you can simply send a Caring Bridge note to please not phone on Thursdays and Fridays.

 

Recently, I learned that Caring Bridge also offers great advice on building and maintaining a strong support network. You can read it here.

When Caregiving is Not Enough - Finding Good Homecare

 In her article, "When Caregiving Is Not Enough ~ Finding Good Homecare," in this week's issue of Caregiver.com's newsletter, Leah M. Pavela, LCSW, offers a meaty list of issues to consider when seeking in-home care for your loved one.

 

Her tips, which you can find here, are very wise. After my family's frustrations and hard-earned lessons with several home care agencies, I cringe when I hear a caregiver say, "Oh, we're just going to hire Sally because our neighbor liked her." You need to ask Ms. Pavela's great questions about communications, supervision, emergencies, insurance, and so forth. Finding good homecare should lighten your load, so vet people and agencies with problem prevention in mind.

Cookies!

 She sat with afternoon sunlight rendering her royal blue cashmere cardigan and blue/apple green silk scarf into sapphires and emeralds. Or maybe her glow came from Day 3 of her only son's visit. Her eyes shone with joy and attempted attention to her son's fingers and lips as he tweaked her computer files, shortcuts, and apps to make her 96th year easier and cybersafer.

As grateful as I was for my brother's tech help and as hard as I concentrated on remembering all this new information so that I could help Mom after my brother went home, I zoned out. Had to leave. My techno-weenie brain was full.

On my drive home, a conversation replayed in my head. Mom had looked at me brightly and shared that when I had e-mailed that I wanted to bake cookies with her, she had immediately sent her caregiver to the store to buy all the ingredients. She was so excited. I was dumbfounded.

I wondered if someone else had expressed a desire to bake Christmas cookies with Mom. Who was the e-mail from? Me? I didn't remember saying that I wanted to bake cookies. Can't even imagine it; I don't have the patience required to bake cookies. Plus, it's not part of my childhood history with Mom.  Back scratches, yes. Head rubs, yes. Cookie baking, no.

Finally, in the car on my way home, it clicked. I had copied Mom on an e-mail I had sent to my brother to ask him if while he was in town, would he show me how to clear cookies from Mom's computer.

Awww ... Mom's eagerness to bake Christmas cookies with me touched my heart. Her confusion concerns me, yes, but mostly, I want to bake cookies with my mom.