On the Subject of Self-Care for Caregivers

Last week, Leanne Meier RN, BSN had as her guest on her voiceamerica.com podcast Once a Nurse, Always a Nurse, Tina Marrelli MSN, MA, RN, FAAN (see post below). Tina was asked to speak about her award-winning book for caregivers A Guide for Caregiving - What's Next? and on the topic of self-care for caregivers.

It was a terrific episode and I really recommend you take time to listen to the on-demand replay. They both presented some great points!

The Episode Description reads: Tina Marrelli, BSN, RN joins me Monday, December 23,

2019 on Once a Nurse to talk about Caregivers giving themselves the gift of self-care. She is a Best Selling Author of an interesting set of easy-to-use handbooks to help caregivers in the home deal with issues as they arise: Body systems understanding, what to do if something goes wrong, who to call, resources in general, tips and much more. She is a delightful advocate for Caregiving. She will focus on self-care and why it is SO critical before, during and after the Holidays; how to bring relatives who rarely visit into the assistance of their loved one; arranging time off for the usual caregiver; and recognizing the dangers of overwhelming the loved one with “surprises” and unusual commotion or parties. Join us! I know it will be worth your while!

Listen live at: https://lnkd.in/e9HKJqs

If you miss it, the archive will be posted at: https://lnkd.in/epSWrXD

Book Review: A Guide for Caregiving - What's Next?

I am pleased to call Tina Marrelli, MSN, MA, RN, FAAN, a friend. She is also a fabulous award-winning, best-selling author. Everything she writes is done to perfection and so it's no surprise that she has combined her vast knowledge as a nurse from the home health and hospice field with the art of caregiving for her loved ones. Tina has chosen to share some of the very best tips that you'll find anywhere in her award-winning book, A Guide for Caregiving - What's Next?  

Caregiving for your aging loved ones is probably one of the most difficult roles you'll encounter in your life. Any assistance you can get to reduce the burden and let you know you're not alone in your feelings that can include anger, resentment, depression, loneliness, as well as satisfaction and joy is worth its weight in gold! Even for seasoned nurses, caregiving for your aging loved ones is foreign. All assistance is welcome! This book is an essential resource.

In 2017, the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) honored the book with 3rd place in their Book of the Year- consumer health listing. Caring.com also honored the book in 2017 as a Best Caregiving Book.  In January 2019, Caregiver.com bestowed a Today's Caregiver Friendly Award on the book. 

A Guide for Caregiving - What's Next?  plays a dual role as a guide for caregivers as well as for health care clinicians to work through the process of caregiving aging loved ones at home. Ms. Marrelli provides a wealth of resources and information to make the task easier. This includes information about home safety, infection control issues and prevention, and how to use a caregiver notebook to simplify the process. Work with your home health or hospice nurse to help you provide the very best care for your loved ones.

There is an important chapter about self-care for the caregiver! This is a very important part of being a caregiver; taking care of you. If you don't, you're going to break down and be unable to provide the care. Don't let yourself become part of the problem.

The book also has a wealth of information about disease-specific care such as for Alzheimer's or other dementias, diabetes, cancer, COPD, stroke, and cardiac conditions. There is a specific chapter on caring for bedbound patients, on for those with arthritis and another devoted to amputations.

There is also a section on a glossary of health care terms and a section on how to become an advocate and coordinator for your loved one's care. And no book would be complete without a multitude of other resources. The book is spiral bound and easy to read and locate the information you need.

This is one of the best caregiving books on the market and a must-have for any caregiver's library. Order online from Marrelli.com.

For more information about caring for your aging parents, please consider downloading my course, Caring for Your Aging Parents, from Teachable.com. It takes a couple of hours, and you can just hit play and listen while you go about other business.

Gift Recommendation : Laminator

I got a new laminator that will laminate papers up to 13" wide. It's reasonably priced and comes with a great supply of various sized pouches to get you started. It also came with a trimmer and a page rounder. The instructions are easy to follow and it works quite well.

While not all legal documents can or should be laminated, copies of them can be so you can place the originals in a safe place and be able to access the copies as needed for information purposes.

Laminators are also great for work projects like training materials and marketing or reference materials. Arts and craft projects like placemats, bookmarks, and other projects that need to be waterproof or preserved for a while can be laminated. It's also great for preserving artwork or school work from your children or grandchildren.

Note that lamination is not recommended to serve to preserve papers and photos for archiving.

I got mine from Amazon and it was delivered promptly.

#Laminator

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