The Unexpected Journey Of Caring

The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a practical guide to finding personal meaning in the 21st century care experience. Readers are invited to actively reclaim and remake how they think of themselves, their care situation, and their capacities to provide care for their loved one and themselves.

A riveting and redemptive family memoir, The Four Walls of My Freedom is Donna Thomson’s account of raising a son with cerebral palsy and a passionate appeal to change the way we think about “the good life.” Donna Thomson’s life was forever changed when her son Nicholas was born with cerebral palsy. A former actor, director, and teacher, Donna became his primary caregiver and embarked on a second career as a disability activist, author, and consultant. Thomson vividly describes her experience in treading delicately through daily care, emergencies, and medical bureaucracy as she and her family cope with her son’s condition while maintaining value and dignity (for Nicholas, too). She brilliantly demonstrates the vital contribution that people with disabilities make to our society and addresses the ethics and economics of giving and receiving care. Featuring an introduction by John Ralston Saul, and two new chapters, The Four Walls of My Freedom is a passionate appeal to change to the way we think about the “good life” that will touch anyone caring for the life of another.

For the weary dementia or Alzheimer's caregiver If you are a caregiver to someone with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, you carry a heavy load. On top of having to watch someone you love suffer, you are probably losing sleep, growing frustrated, and struggling with loneliness or even depression. With little to no help and no time for a break, this unrelenting stress is hard to carry. Whether that’s you or someone you know, the caregiver needs care, too. Grace for the Unexpected Journey: A 60-Day Devotional for Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Caregivers provides that support. Each daily devotion: Is short, ideal for demanding schedules Reflects on a relevant Scripture passage Features a relatable caregiving story Offers a key Scripture for meditation Debbie Barr is a speaker, health educator, and the author of multiple books, including Keeping Love Alive As Memory Fades (coauthored with New York Times bestselling author Gary Chapman). As a health educator with a deep concern and compassion for dementia caregivers, she saw their need for faith-based encouragement. With compassion and understanding she uses Scriptures to address their practical hardships and spiritual concerns. When the struggles seem insurmountable, this devotional offers strength. When stress floods in, it points to peace. And when darkness falls, it illuminates hope. Caregivers walk a long, difficult road. This devotional gives grace for their journey.

This book is aimed at GroupWise System Administrators and those who are in the process of become an Administrator. The book covers the GroupWise basics such as the architecture, design and management of a GroupWise system and also offers information on preventive maintenance and troubleshooting. For experienced administrators this book offers a complete overview of what's new in GroupWise version 8. The author has over 15 years of experience in working with GroupWise systems and therefor is able to offer valuable tips that will be useful for day to day operations and in troubleshooting problems. In addition, the book provides an overview of Teaming + Conferencing, and its integration into GroupWise.

“Unflinchingly tackles a complex aspect of eldercare in each chapter . . . an indispensable resource for family caregivers.”—Patrick O’Malley, author of Getting Grief Right When it comes time to provide care for those who once cared for us, where can we turn? This book offers practical guidance for a broad range of caregiving situations when family caregivers assume their new role. My Parent’s Keeper . . . · Uses the latest research and draws on case histories and interviews. · Is a resource as well as a source of inspiration, with a blend of powerful stories and practical advice. · Helps caregivers cope with numerous challenges, including parents who need but refuse help; siblings who don’t get along; the complexity of healthcare systems; financial issues; juggling work and caregiving; the use of technology; the power of connecting with a loved one who has dementia; and realizing the benefits amid the burdens of caregiving. “Jody Gastfriend has created the ultimate GPS for family caregivers. At once humane and helpful, personal and political, she charts the long, hard, and rewarding role that all of us will take caring for our families and each other. Don’t leave home without it!”—Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and founder of The Conversation Project “My Parent's Keeper shines a light on the conundrum of caregiving—as adult children, our best intentions are insufficient to help our parents and ourselves. We need a plan in advance of need—this book offers up-to-date guideposts for this inevitable caregiving journey.”—Laurie M. Orlov, author of When Your Parents Need Elder Care: Lessons from the Front Lines

The desire to help our elders navigate health issues is clear and universal—how to assure proper care and a good ending is not. Combining adroit storytelling skills with expert advice, The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare brings the reader into all-too-familiar scenarios facing our aging parents and offers answers to questions we may not know to ask until it’s too late. Author and biologist Marcy Houle shares her personal journey of caring for her father, a surgeon, who developed Alzheimer’s, and later her mother, who succumbed to other medical conditions. Like many children of aging parents, Marcy often felt powerless traveling this sad trajectory—watching them fall through the cracks of a fragmented and confusing healthcare system, where professionals often wrote off their symptoms as “just old age.” Not having the understanding of the changes that come with aging, she was led to believe there was nothing she could do to help. The tragic secret? According to coauthor and geriatrics physician Elizabeth Eckstrom, these symptoms frequently are not “just old age.” Rather, the problem is that the current healthcare delivery model for older people is ill-equipped to provide the comprehensive, person-centered care seniors need. Today, thousands of aging people face unnecessary suffering, hospitalizations, nursing home stays, and even death due to complications that could have been prevented or treated. Even more troubling, many healthcare professionals have had little or no training in the care of older adults. The Gift of Caring reveals these pitfalls and provides families with tools they can use to avoid them. Interspersed with every few chapters of Marcy’s riveting story, Dr. Eckstrom shares professional medical insights, compiled from the latest research, into what Marcy could have done to safeguard her parents. She shows us how to navigate the system, how we can become our loved one’s best advocate, and what we need to know to achieve healthy aging and meaningful, compassionate final years. Honest, at times humorous, and ultimately uplifting, The Gift of Caring sheds new light on aging from twin perspectives: a story of a daughter desperately seeking help for the parents she loves, and a geriatrician who gives us the knowledge we need to insist upon a better way.

For the weary dementia or Alzheimer's caregiver, this daily devotional offers strength and self-care as they walk a long, difficult road. Each devotion reflects on a relevant Scripture passage, features a relatable caregiving story, and offers a key Scripture for meditation.

Explores the beautiful and complicated mother-daughter relationship in the context of caregiving for an ill or aging mother and offers tips and suggestions for overcoming the more difficult aspects while celebrating and cherishing the more comforting features.