Caregiver Training Blog

The last time I saw Helen was at a planning meeting for our 25^th high school reunion.  While we weren’t the closest of friends during our time in school, reminiscing and catching up during all our meetings helped us create a new kind of friendship.  As we shared the many things we had in common, marriage, divorce, children, and a multitude of grandkids; we also promised to keep in touch after the reunion.  Life does have a way of moving right along and twenty-five years later, now planning our 50^th reunion, Helen and I never fulfilled our promise to stay in contact.  That is until I received a call from a mutual friend, Helen was in hospice.

“I have tried, I have given, I just can't take anymore. I am exhausted and feel like I am on the brink of a nervous breakdown. I have never even had one day alone in my home in 10 years.”

Departing on a recent recent business trip I was carrying a heavy backpack and pulling two large suitcases, but it wasn’t until I dropped these off at the airline counter that I felt such relief in my shoulders, arms and back.  The reprieve from the bags was so significant that for the next few hours all I could think about was the metaphor for baggage and began to reflect on the bags we often carry through life.

Today, 14 million people identify themselves as Jewish, with approximately 40% of these individuals residing in the United States.  As with all different cultures and religions, the rapidly changing demographics of the aging population with the added challenges of chronic illnesses, spiritual needs, and understanding of their culture are of great importance.  Today’s Jewish elders, their families, and caregivers are searching for meaning, purpose, and community within their Jewish traditions.

When we think about Lent, what often comes to mind is giving up or letting go of something we truly love and feel we can’t go without.  Giving up our daily three or four cups of coffee, decadent chocolate or perhaps letting go of our mindless scrolling on Facebook may be a big enough sacrifice for many.  Sacrifice is certainly something family caregivers know about first hand.  Caregivers are often required to give up their time, their energy and perhaps even that special space in your home used for meditation and solitude. The truth is, once you open yourself up to care for a loved one, life changes and sacrifices are required.

iPhones and iPads were probably just a fantasy that only the Jetsons could have imaged in their futuristic utopia of elaborate robotic contraptions in the early 1960s.  Yet here we are in 2013 with all the latest technology providing every conceivable convenience imaginable by a mere touch of our fingertips.  What does this mean for the very much hands-on caregiver?  Ever wonder what it would have been like for George Jetson in his make-believe world to care for his aging mother-in-law?  Perhaps that could have provided us with some interesting concepts of caregiving.

Julia sat with her mom during their weekly visit.  With the diminished capacity of dementia, her mother would soon forget she had ever been there. In a moment of profound sadness and exasperation Julia said quietly to herself: