The Knee Bone's Connected To ...
tsb

Such a face! Daddy Bones@ age 12, gracing the book's cover.

 

 How to Keep Your Sanity Intact When a Loved One Needs a Nursing Home  

It’s estimated that more than 50 million people provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year.

Studies show that extremely stressed caregivers can age or die prematurely. 

“Bette Davis said ‘old age is no place for sissies,’ but caring for an older loved one isn’t for the feint of heart, either,” says Bones. “I loved my dad and we were very close, but the strain of ‘putting’ him in a nursing home was so overwhelming for all of us that I felt like I was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.”

Becoming aware of some of the don’ts” of long-term care can make daily life easier for nursing home residents and for their family caretakers,” she notes.

Bones offers some key examples from her Nursing Home Checklist:

· Ask clergy, family, and friends - especially those in the health care field - to recommend outstanding nursing homes.

· When touring a nursing home, ask other visitors for frank feedback about the facility. Don’t just inspect the “sample” room, look into residents’ rooms to check for cleanliness.

· Assure your loved one that you will be their ongoing advocate.

· Visit your loved one often and at varying times of the day - and night. This alerts all of the caregivers that you are keeping an eye on your loved one.

· Get to know the staff, especially your loved one’s immediate caregivers.

· Thank the employees for the thankless job that they do.

· Put your loved one’s name on all their belongings, including clothes and personal products. Never leave money or valuables in their room.

· Place a quilt, photos and other small touches to create a “homey” room.

· Put a brief bio and picture of your loved one at the entrance of their room to “introduce” them to staff and visitors.

. Bring old photos when you visit your loved one - it will give you something to look at if conversation lags.

. Bring different edible treats to spice-up the resident's menu.

 

 


 

 

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Monday
Oct052009

(MORE) FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

DateMonday, October 5, 2009 at 06:32PM

OK, let me begin by stating up front that we are not fine-dining virgins.

As middle-aged people, we have been to a few nice restaurants or two. (In other words, girlfriend doesn't cook on weekends. Or as my sister Re says: Friday night is takeout night; Saturday night is take me out night!)

So we go out with two friends to a BYOB in Philly that has garnered some solid reviews. I've made sure to come on an empty stomach to fully enjoy my meal, not an easy task for a chowhound. Our friends are a bit late, so as we wait, we hanker for a piece of bread, but notice no bread baskets on other tables. When the friends arrive, the server brings us something that looks like wisps of fried dough. She mentions something about it being dusted with powdered sugar and chocolate. Really? So what do they have on the menu for dessert - broccoli? We four devour the wisps in no time. After a miniscule salad (my beloved describes it as "four pieces of fluffed-up lettuce") and a bitsy square of cornbread each (finally, a bread product!), our dinners are served. The server explains to each of us ( and, we notice, to every other patron in the place) what the meal is, otherwise no one would know that this is indeed the dish we ordered. Everything is child-sized and minimalism reigns. I have a paella with a superb sauce but no rice. What do these people have against starches and carbohydrates? Vegetables are the size of grapes. We consume the meal quickly. When the server asks how everything is, my friend, the kind of tall, slender woman who never had to wrestle with a zipper her entire life, says in all honesty that it was delicious, but the portions were extremely small. As a chubette, I wanted to second that emotion, but swallow my thoughts along with the last bits of shrimp on my plate. The server looks annoyed. We dare not order dessert for fear it will resemble a Hershey Kiss and flee elsewhere for some hearty sweets and coffee.

So all I'm saying is that culinary innovation is an artform that we appreciate fully, but one that we admire even more when we're full.

Anybody up for a midnight run to Mickey D's?

AuthorDiane Bones | CommentPost a Comment |

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