Caregiving – and the challenges faced by caregivers – is now so widely recognized that it’s easy to forget that only 5-10 years ago the biggest challenge for those of us in the industry advocating for help was how to get caregivers to simply self-identify. People viewed their caregiving challenges in terms of their responsibility as a spouse, sibling, parent, or friend. Rarely as a member of a very large club consisting of 65 million other members!
Contributed by Sherri Snelling
While Saturday marked the first official day of fall, this whole season is the kick-off to Falls Prevention Awareness. Falls – whether they happen in the home or just getting around town – are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in every 3 Americans over age 65 suffers a fall and more than 18,000 seniors die every year from a fall-related incident. Whether the fall results in a hip fracture, a head injury or other physical problem, more than 2.3 million seniors age 65+ were treated in ERs across the country with a non-fatal fall injury with more than 662,000 of those cases resulting in hospitalizations.
Now that Lotsa Helping Hands has surpassed the one-millionth user mark, it seems that Lotsa members are everywhere. That means it’s becoming easier to find help for caregivers!
Have you ever needed to know how to support someone with cancer? Have you delivered a meal to a mother with breast cancer juggling care for her children or offered to drive a friend to a chemotherapy session? Chances are, if you have helped a person with cancer you have experienced the profound emotions that come with helping, from great joy and relief that, indeed, there is something that you can actually do to make a difference — to sadness for what your loved one is experiencing.
Contributed by Sherri Snelling
When it comes to caregiving, staying fit so that you have the energy to care for your loved one is like training for an Olympic marathon not a sprint. Even though your caregiving race may begin with a crisis event, very often it lasts far longer than you may anticipate – not days but weeks, months, years. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, caregivers spend on average 4.6 years caring for a loved one with 15 percent spending more than 10 years. A world-class runner who can finish the 100-yard dash in 9.1 seconds cannot keep up that pace for 26 miles – it is simply impossible.
Contributed by Hal Chapel, CEO and Co-Founder of Lotsa Helping Hands
Community. A word that evokes many different images.
Not only are we social creatures, requiring interaction with other people, but historically our species has ultimately survived and thrived by banding together into social groups we call ‘community’. Community has not only provided protection in collective defense, but in the division and sharing of labor and resources. But perhaps community has been most significant in offering us fundamental meaning in life. At the end of the day, do we really judge the value of our lives by how much money we make or how many things we collect, or how much fame we achieve? Don’t we feel most satisfied when we know we have truly affected another person positively, when we have contributed to our own communities?
Contributed by Guest Blogger, Sherri Snelling
I recently celebrated my birthday and it got me to thinking about our “real age.” Whenever I meet a friend for coffee the conversation now turns to our latest health issue (we are at that age) – hurt knees from running, migraines from changing hormones, sun spots on our face, wrinkles on our foreheads, and intestinal rumblings from last night’s Mexican food. And, when the bill comes, we all hold the check back about 12 inches so we can read it (always forgetting the reading glasses which are now common among my friends). However, we marvel at how we don’t see ourselves as our real age – and as friends we even comfort each other that we certainly don’t look our real age either.
As we grow older and start to care for aging parents, what is our risk as caregivers for being “older” than our real age because we often neglect our own health and wellness needs?
Contributed by Barry Katz, Co-Founder at Lotsa Helping Hands
In 2005 version 1.0 of the Lotsa Helping Hands service was introduced to the world. While rudimentary in its design and feature set, it did begin to address the needs of caregivers. This once neglected group now had some building blocks to begin organizing their thoughts and approach to caregiving. As a Lotsa Co-Founder, and one of the providers of basic support to Community members, three early Communities stand out to me:
Contributed by Sherri Snelling
Many caregivers are housebound caring for their loved one. It is especially hard after long winter months where you are also hampered by weather from getting outside and enjoying the sunshine. Spring is here (it actually officially started a month ago) and the bright rays of light and fresh air bring a welcome opportunity to get out of the house.
Caregivers often forget to give themselves a break so they can refresh and reinvigorate when caring for a loved one. Following are three easy, inexpensive ways to enjoy Spring and improve your health and wellness at the same time. These tips only take a few minutes a day to recharge your batteries:
Contributed by Cristy Kovach Hom
When Jason was 13, his grandmother moved in. She was suffering from dementia and could no longer live alone. Jason awoke every night to take his grandma to the bathroom. When her dementia caused her hysteria, Jason was the only family member who could calm her down.