Download or read book That Certain Saturday My Journey as a Caregiver Kindle Edition written by Madelyn S Leigh and published by Christian Faith Publishing. This book was released on 2019-04-10 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: That Certain Saturday tells the true story of Madelyn S Leigh’s struggle with her mother’s illness from Madelyn’s age of nine until she was sixty. Her father always being their rock. Beginning in 1960 with a pill which was proclaimed by doctors to be a miracle, Madelyn had to watch that medication prolong the pain and stigma of her loving and kind mother’s problem rather than fix things. Her mother seemed to have the perfect life by being a contented housewife and very involved with her women’s church group in the years prior to 1960. Her daughter Madelyn’s childhood had been celebrated with the beauty of daily horseback rides which her mother enjoyed watching. The events of the morning that her mom’s nerves came unraveled were something that no child should have to endure. Madelyn did endure it, but her life would never be the same. Psychiatric ward visits and hearing her mother be “labeled” made for a quick jump from childhood to adulthood at age nine. Two years later equaled two more nervous breakdowns and three out-of-state moves due to her dad being transferred because of his job. Her mother had the determination to keep trying to start over by driving again and getting involved with life. A first marriage for Madelyn and a wonderful baby boy, three years later, still did not help to normalize her situation. Her father had been the only stabilizing factor for her since young childhood. His diagnosis of cancer in the late 1980s was a huge awakening Life was a complete confusion for Madelyn while she was always wishing she was simply riding a horse, her favorite pastime. Modern medicines were prescribed for her mom after her last hospital stay and made a great difference. In the 1990s, Madelyn inherited all of the responsibilities of her mom. With her mom’s mental condition greatly improving, her mom’s physical condition began to deteriorate rapidly. The number of doctors for her care grew to nine. Exhaustion and insomnia took over Madelyn’s life, but she kept going due to her love for her mother and the kindness of her mom under terrible circumstances. The coming years contained many changes, but she and her mom always remain together. The wait for Jesus had many challenges. It was a roller-coaster life, growing up in a dysfunctional family which never included alcohol, drug abuse, or physical or mental abuse. It was simply one person’s personal struggle with a chronic illness which affected the whole family. The love of family and the love of animals defeated everything that was bad.

Download or read book Dementia My Journey as a Caregiver written by Summer and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2023-03-24 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dementia, is a terrible disease, and no one usually knows or understands the journey. Summer’s journey was bitter sweet, with highs and lows while she matriculated through the difficult times of assisting her mom. The love these two women shared with each other was priceless! Summer actually started writing this book as her form of therapy, but it also was her way to have written memories of some of the good and bad times with her mom. She wants to share that taking care of people with dementia isn’t all doom and gloom. There’s a struggle for sure, but at the end of the day, the reward is there – sparkling like a diamond!

Download or read book My Journey with Dad written by JoAnn Devine and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-04-16 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a true story about a daughter and her fathers journey through the stages of his Alzheimers disease. Caregivers are the main focus of this story. The author shares techniques and strategies in handling certain behaviors and situations. The goal is to make the caregiving process more manageable so that both you and your family can enjoy those special moments and days ahead with your loved one. The writer stresses the need for the caregiver to reach out for help and support so that the caregiver can keep physically and emotionally healthy. A resource list is included.

Download or read book Laughter in a Time of Turmoil written by Richard P. Olson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-04-11 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here's a different angle on humor--it can be a spiritual practice, an expression of a theology of joy, hope, and grace. Humor is so valuable, for it offers self-care, healing, and renewal, precious gifts in times of pressure and tension. Olson begins by telling of three unforgettable friends who lived their lives with joy and zest--a practice that opened doors and aided their own sense of well-being. Playfully, he continues by exploring the known benefits of humor. Next considered is the amazing variety of humor in the Bible, a basic theology of a laughing God, and the caring ethic of humor that emerges from this theology. Finally, there is a discussion of how this practice of humor enriches worship, caregiving, and administration. Laughter in a Time of Turmoil draws to a close considering spiritual disciplines/practices and why humor belongs among these practices. Suggestions are then offered on how to grow in this spiritual practice. Discussion questions are provided for each chapter to help groups enjoy their conversations about the book. This book will help you think and laugh, or laugh and think (take your pick) and then be on your way rejoicing.

Download or read book Love Loss and Laughter written by Cathy Greenblat and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-03-06 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: See the BBC’s slideshow of photos from Love, Loss, and Laughter.

Download or read book Caring For Someone You Love written by Suzanne Elise Abels,M.S. and published by First Edition Design Pub.. This book was released on 2018-03-19 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My nonfiction, self-help book, Caring for Someone You Love, deals with helping my father during the last year of his life. Healthy and active all his life, Dad suddenly took a fall at age 80 that resulted in a downward spiral that rendered this fiercely independent man suddenly dependent. Caring for Someone You Love, is the story of how this affected both of us. It is a story of love and adjustment and lessons learned, a personal story with broad implications at a time when our older population is larger than ever before in history. With more than 40 million Americans 65 and older, countless sons and daughters will one day find themselves in my position. My father's end of life was an inspiration to me. It is my hope this book will be an inspiration to others. I am also the author of an earlier book, Kindness on a Budget, which illustrates the gifts of being kind daily, both for the giver and the receiver alike. I am an experienced promoter, having discussed Kindness on a Budget on numerous radio shows and as a featured guest speaker before various organizations. Keywords: Family Relationships, Illness, Elderly Parents, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Care Giving, Inspiration, Kindness, Love, Respect, Positivity

Download or read book Traumatic Brain Injury written by Lydia Greear and published by Xlibris US. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a passionate account of Lydia Greears journey as the main caregiver and guardian for her adult son through recovery from a traumatic brain injury. A moment in time one Saturday night has brought about months of day-by-day steps through managing care for Thaddeus. The original documents were recorded day by day and then weeks and monthly accounts of progress as Thaddeus moved from ER to ICU to rehabilitation. This is an emotionally charged account of being challenged by the unknown. You will see her passion unfold and her challenge to keep a positive attitude as she manages people, systems, and facilities. Many family members are not prepared to deal with the drama of traumatic brain injury. Every brain injury is different, and recovery is uncertain. Lydia searched for support and information to help her deal with the realities of everyday life. There are written accounts published by former patients, doctors, and doctors who were patients. This is a book written from the family members perspective.

Download or read book Teaching Leadership written by Barbara C. Crosby and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-15 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teaching Leadership provides guidance for leadership educators in a variety of organizational and community contexts and across academic disciplines. An experienced leadership educator, Crosby promotes an inclusive vision of leadership that recognizes the inherent leadership potential in everyone. Featuring interviews with 25 respected leadership educators, Teaching Leadership complicates and enriches the leader-follower dichotomy to advance a holistic and practice-oriented model of leadership education. Using the metaphor of ‘heart, head, and hands,’ Crosby shows how authentic leadership is an embodied practice based equally in emotional, intellectual, and experiential learning.

Download or read book When Mama Can t Kiss it Better A journey of love loss and acceptance written by Lori Gertz and published by First Edition Design Pub.. This book was released on 2014-09-18 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WHEN MAMA CAN’T KISS IT BETTER is the raw account of a true story that shocked the nation in 2010. Gertz was America's most hated mother when news of a decision to place her adopted child in another family broke in the media. Called out by many as an unfit mother and an evil woman who threw away her child, she was catapulted into the national and international media. Her daughter, Emily suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, reactive attachment disorder, bipolar disorder, and other disorders. She had never bonded with Lori, her father or her siblings and had begun a spiral of self-destruction that often involved running into traffic and other dangerous behaviors. While Gertz recalls feeling isolated, accounts like hers are not rare. Stories like When Mama Can’t Kiss it Better are not told terribly often because of the stigma and finger pointing. She writes, “The mother is always blamed first when a child suffers from extreme behavioral disabilities.” There are millions of parents who are struggling to raise children with behavioral disabilities, who feel misunderstood, unheard, and judged, and who want to be reassured that there are others like them. With one in four Americans struggling with mental illness (NIMH) every year everyone in this country either lives with mental illness or knows someone who does. The greatest tragedy is that 60% of the adults and 50% of the children suffering from mental disorders will receive absolutely NO services or support for their mental illness. WHEN MAMA CAN’T KISS IT BETTER covers: * The adoption of their daughter Emily, early signs of trouble, their birthmother's suicide, the truth about her pregnancy and warnings about how to avoid what happened to the author and her family * Raw and honest details about her daughter's rages, suicide attempts, and hospitalizations * The turmoil that living with mental illness causes for everyone in the home and how it affects siblings and marriages * The difficulty in receiving support from physicians, educators, & clinicians * The author’s increasing desperation to find answers and help as rages and impulsivity became safety issues * Being judged by doctors, schools, and outsiders as "the problem" while her daughter collected diagnosis after diagnosis * The painful decision to place her daughter in another family and how she came to accept that she had to do the unthinkable * Parents worldwide waging verbal attacks on her since if the fault belonged to Gertz alone, it couldn't happen to anyone else Note from the Author: I spent the better part of six years writing this book, which began as the only way I could cope with what was happening in our lives. I just couldn’t believe the lack of resources there were when I reached out for them so vociferously and started documenting what was happening inside our family if not only to maintain my sanity. I am passionate about telling my story to help increase understanding of the enormous challenges parents of special needs children face in a culture that believes that motherly love and perseverance can cure all ills. For those on similar paths, the story of my journey to a sense of peace within the context of facing unrealized dreams, human limitations, broken hearts, and the unfair circumstances of life may help them find that same place of peace in the tough decisions within their own lives. I pray this book will bring attention to the need to better support parents and kids with mental illness and other invisible disabilities and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to call attention to such pressing societal issues. Keywords: Parenting, Disabilities, FASD, Mothering, Mental Illness, RAD, Bipolar, Memoir, Special Needs, Fetal Alcohol, Syndrome

Download or read book The Whole Person Recovery Handbook written by Emma Drew and published by Sheldon Press. This book was released on 2015-08-20 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of recovery is that people learn to live with the past and with their imperfections, and find positive steps forward that work for them. Whole Person Recovery (WPR) aims to co-design treatment with the addict, build ‘recovery capital’, and maximise chances of success by supporting the addict to take control of their recovery. This joint process has been shown to be more effective than traditional approaches to treatment – and is fast influencing and overtaking such approaches. At the heart of the process is self-acceptance, safe space, trust, learning, human warmth and kindness. Topics include; · Substance abuse disorder and addictive behaviour disorder · Related mental health problems such as severe depression · Traditional recovery methods eg 12-step programmes · The importance of person-centred counselling · The baggage: finding ways to manage past feelings and experiences · Breaking routines: developing skills and capabilities for the future · Treatment: formal and informal services and support · Making a plan: formal and informal coping strategies The rest of my life: getting well and staying well.

Download or read book Thrive Through Tears anyway written by Misty VanderWeele and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thrive Through Tears is about commitment to creating the best life possible. It's about honoring "This Life" despite the shock of human loss. To arriving at a space of grieving to surrendering grace. Misty recounts her son's inspirational and brave life living with the muscle disease, Duchenne-Muscular- Dystrophy and how her connection with him drives her forward. AND ultimately the signs and ah-ha moments that uplifts her dreams and every waking moment. Truly a story for anyone wanting to Thrive Through Tears Anyway...

Download or read book Boosting Joy in the Grips of My Alzheimer s Caregiver Journey written by Eunice L. Sykes and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-03-09 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease can be a daunting task. Getting the most out of caregiving while taking care of a loved one is a challenge. When that loved one is a spouse, the tasks are doubly daunting, magnified over and over. Being mindful of your loved one’s habits, hobbies, lifestyle, and preferences is important. This book offers insights on how to reclaim and get more joy from the caregiving love journey. As an unpaid, loving caregiver, Eunice Sykes writes the book she wished she had at the beginning of her journey—one that shares, educates, and offers joy and hope to those beginning their journey or those still on the journey. Deeply personal, in-the-moment anecdotes drawn from her journals add to the honest, moving testimony that this book delivers.

Download or read book Forget Me Not written by Lovelle Agbayani and published by Lovelle Agbayani. This book was released on 2024-03-02 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 🌼 Embrace a heartfelt journey of love, understanding, and resilience in "Forget Me Not: Understanding My Mother's Journey with Alzheimer's" 🌼 In this poignant and deeply personal e-book, delve into the profound story of a daughter's unwavering dedication to understanding and supporting her mother through the challenging terrain of Alzheimer's disease. Through raw emotions, candid reflections, and tender moments, the author invites you to witness the impact of this devastating illness on a family's bond and the strength that emerges through adversity. "Forget Me Not" is a tribute to the enduring love between a mother and daughter, navigating the complexities of memory loss, confusion, and change with grace and compassion. Gain insights into the realities of Alzheimer's, find solace in shared experiences, and discover the resilience that blooms in the face of life's greatest challenges. Open your heart to this touching narrative and embark on a transformative exploration of compassion and courage.

Download or read book The Unexpected Journey of Caring written by Donna Thomson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-06-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a foreword by Judy Woodruff, The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a practical guide to finding personal meaning in the 21st century care experience. Personal transformation is usually an experience we actively seek out—not one that hunts us down. Becoming a caregiver is one transformation that comes at us, requiring us to rethink everything we once knew. Everything changes—responsibilities, beliefs, hopes, expectations, and relationships. Caregiving is not just a role reserved for “saints”—eventually, everyone is drafted into the caregiver role. It’s not a role people medically train for; it’s a new type of relationship initiated by a loved one’s need for care. And it’s a role that cannot be quarantined to home because it infuses all aspects of our lives. Caregivers today find themselves in need of a crash course in new and unfamiliar skills. They must not only care for a loved one, but also access hidden community resources, collaborate with medical professionals, craft new narratives consistent with the changing nature of their care role, coordinate care with family, seek information and peer support using a variety of digital platforms, and negotiate social support—all while attempting to manage conflicts between work, life, and relationship roles. The moments that mark us in the transition from loved one to caregiver matter because if we don’t make sense of how we are being transformed, we risk undervaluing our care experiences, denying our evolving beliefs, becoming trapped by other’s misunderstandings, and feeling underappreciated, burned out, and overwhelmed. Informed by original caregiver research and proven advocacy strategies, this book speaks to caregiving as it unfolds, in all of its confusion, chaos, and messiness. Readers won’t find well-intentioned clichés or care stereotypes in this book. There are no promises to help caregivers return to a life they knew before caregiving. No, this book greets caregivers where they are in their journey—new or chronic—not where others expect (or want) them to be.

Download or read book The Journey for Mama s Babies written by Melissa R. Pandolf and published by First Edition Design Pub.. This book was released on 2014-02-28 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Melissa Pandolf has never been one to let a few rules stand in her way. So when she and her husband, Doug, began the adoption process, the hopeful mother-to-be had her sights set on quickly welcoming two beaming babies to make the Pandolf house a family home. However, after three years; four trips to Russia; one trip to Washington, DC; and two plane crashes that threatened to bring their dream down around them, she came to realize that a bigger destiny awaited them on the other side of the world. As the adoptive parents of four Russian siblings, the young couple from Long Island learned the true meaning of family, and what it means to go the extra mile to give your children what they need. Beginning with the first meeting with an adoption agency, The Journey for Mama's Babies chronicles the Pandolfs' three-year odyssey to bring their babies home. From her naïve initial assumptions about the process to her ultimate hard-won savvy and resolve, Pandolf shares every key aspect of the experience, including the unexpected depression that can be companion to this emotionally wrenching process. With clear-eyed candor, the author recounts the ups and downs, the unexpected twists, and the backward loops that frequently punctuated their mission. Along the way, she and her husband were also faced with heartbreaking decisions that neither had anticipated, as their dream of two children quickly grew when a larger group of siblings presented itself. At the same time, the couple also confronted the demand for an ironclad resiliency due to countless setbacks, never-ending red tape, and a constantly shifting perspective on what it truly means to be a family. Still, their challenges only began when they finally were joined together in the United States, as the Pandolfs scrambled to help their children make the transition from speaking Russian to speaking English and help them adjust to their new surroundings. Enlightening, easy to read, and arrestingly honest, The Journey for Mama's Babies will captivate anyone who has ever navigated the intricacies of the adoption process or who cares about someone who has. Both inspiring and open-eyed, this tender, telling story of a family built across oceans, languages, and every imaginable obstacle will take hold of your heart, and make you hold your loved ones closer still.

Download or read book Pepare to Love Again eBook written by Kim Olver and published by Kim Olver. This book was released on 2009 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You will learn techniques to help ease the pain of the death of a loved one, the end of a cherished relationship or the separation from a loved one due to distance. You will learn ways to articulate the loss, understand your anger and frustration, taking inventory of all you have lost, finding ways to memorialize your loved one as an inoculation to the depression and learning to reframe the experience. Kim lost her husband in 1999 and has first-hand experience in how to ease that pain. Help yourself rejoin the living by taking this e-course. You won?t even have to leave your home.

Download or read book Moonlight in the Desert of Left Behind written by Jan Baumgartner and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2017-04-09 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newly married, writer Jan Baumgartner and her husband, John, pack up their home and busy lives in San Francisco trading the city verve for a quieter one along the rural coast of Maine. Looking forward to a slower pace, a life intertwined with nature, and greater opportunities to satiate their wanderlust for world travel, the couple buys a rambling Victorian house on the shores of Eggemoggin Reach, excited to begin this new chapter of their lives. But just a few years later, they receive the unexpected and devastating news that her husband is terminally ill with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. In their 30s and 40s, in a place not quite yet home, without family or closest friends nearby, and facing a crippling disease that will leave him paralyzed from the neck down, the author chronicles the heartbreak and depth of their love as she struggles with the emotional and physical challenges as a full-time caregiver for her dying husband. Throughout the journey, she finds an unexpected source of inspiration in her travels to Africa, with and without John, a healing connection with the bounty of nature surrounding their coastal home, and her determination to one day return to her beloved Africa. From the rugged isolation of the Maine coast to the wilds of the African bush, Moonlight in the Desert of Left Behind is a poignant and often heartrendingly candid story of devotion, courage, and ultimately, hope.