 |
|||
|
Choices ~ Healing ~ Love October 24th marked Empowering Caregivers' 8th anniversary as an online community. Over five million visitors from over 160 countries throughout the world have visited and benefited from the site. These figures are mind boggling to me. So, it is with humble gratitude that we move into the coming year more empowered ourselves... empowered as an online community, empowered as an organization and empowered with the vision to evolve and grow in those areas to serve our informal family caregivers in even greater capacity. The month of November recognizes several health observations listed below. It also recognizes National Family Caregivers Month, Alzheimer's Awareness.. there is a National Candle Lighting Ceremony for Alzheimer's, Memory Screening Day, a special dedication with Leeza Gibbons here in Brooklyn, Veterans' Day and Thanksgiving... Caregivers can vouch for the need to have a healthcare proxy in place. However, most have them for their loved ones but not for themselves. With the years' past tragedies such as the hurricanes and the Tsunami, many were left without proxies, wills and end of life business issues in order. Many caregivers will inherit money or personal possessions from the one's they are caring for but many do not have their own health care proxy, wills, advanced directives and affairs in order. Now is the time to think about it for yourselves .. and for your loved ones if they have not taken the steps of preparedness that is needed. The Terri Schiavo case is a clear indication of how necessary it is to have these documents in order. Thanksgiving is a time for loved ones to come together and it is an ideal time for you to begin initiating these difficult discussions with them. While the Caring Coalition site offers forms for the Metro New York area, most can download forms from their state sites merely by doing a search for them online. Leeza Gibbon's is our featured guest in the Caregiver's Concerns column. She shares her compelling story of Alzheimer's with her grandmother and her mother. Carol LaBarbera has written a wonderful article on creating sacred altars taken from her "Shrine Workshops" which I know you will find fascinating. I am particularly touched by Jennie Harris's Spotlight with her husband as she is now caring in a similar fashion for her second husband who underwent a very difficult surgery on Friday., As the holidays approach at a rapid pace, allow yourself the luxury of keeping your life as simple as possible. Let go of many of the details of celebrations, reach out to family and friends and ask for the assistance you may be in need of.. take some quiet time daily for yourself to regroup and perhaps write in a journal... take the time. You not only need it.. you deserve it... even if it is only for ten or fifteen minutes. No one can do this for you. I am hoping to get back to a regular schedule with the newsetter.... in the meantime may your holidays be loving and peaceful... May your journey be gentle and beautiful! National Organization For Empowering Caregivers NOFEC We invite you to join in our complimentary membership at: Join Us. While you are there, please take a few minutes to fill in our Caregiver Survey. Your input is extremely valuable and we will respect your privacy. Your support in filling in our survey will help us and our funders to study the areas where programming is most needed and where it will be most effective. Survey. Are You A Caregiver In New York City? If you are a family caregiver residing in New York City, please contact us to see if you are eligible for respite provided by our trained volunteers. Through a grant provided by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and additional funding through Marble Collegiate Church and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, we are now offering respite services to those caregivers residing in our catchments' area consisting of Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River and from West 59th street to Houston Street. For more information or to become a member of our coalition or to volunteer your gift of time, please contact us at 212.807.1204. We look forward to hearing from you. Caregiver Sites Of The Month Archives Or click on this link: If you are interested in submitting an article(s) please go to: Submit. You will find a form for submitting your article, bio/profile, copyright permissions, etc. Please review our guidelines for acceptance, submit and we will notify you upon acceptance.
~ There have been several losses in the past few months in the community and our thoughts and prayers are with Susan F who lost her dad , SharonE who just lost her mother, Artnut in memory of her husband, Samina who lost her husband., Janet in memory of her father and lelaok in memory of her mother. Our prayers are with you for a gentle and nurturing healing... ~ Leeza Gibbons Tells The Most important Story of All: I can’t imagine ever forgetting my baby’s first steps. What on earth can take away the image of my children’s smiles? How could it be possible that I could not remember the sounds of their giggles? If you are reading this article, you probably know that Alzheimer’s disease can overpower them all. It breaks into a brain and strips away even the most cherished, deeply imbedded memories—those we count on to nurture us and comfort us throughout our lives. Leeza Gibbons Leeza Gibbons is a noted television and radio host. She recently began broadcasting a new, daily five-hour music program, “Leeza At Night” on radio stations nationwide, while also hosting the national ally-syndicated radio show “Hollywood Confidential” and Lifetime’s Primetime Magazine “What Should You Do?” Special Guest Contribution About 7 years ago, I made my first altar for a “Day of the Dead” group art exhibit at a local Mexican restaurant in New York. It was in honor of my dog, Java, who passed away several months earlier. Creating the altar was a profoundly healing experience, as I had the quiet time and space to reconnect with the bittersweet memories Java gave me, as well as grieve her loss. The altar acted as a sanctuary for her spirit, and gave me a great source of comfort. For centuries, altars have been a way of holding life sacred. Every culture in the world builds altars to sanctify humanity and the relationship to the Divine. Top Of Page
Support for Alzheimer’s Patients The American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF) is dedicated to funding research on age-related and degenerative diseases, educating the public about these diseases, and providing emergency financial assistance to Alzheimer's disease patients and their caregivers. ~ Announcing The first Metro NY HealthCare Proxy Weekend On Nov. 11-13, 2005, the Caring Coalition of Metro New York -- a voluntary organization of 15 health care organizations in the New York-New Jersey area -- will sponsor Healthcare Proxy Weekend in an effort to provide information about health care proxies and to get proxy forms into the hands of as many individuals as possible. According to Gail r. Mitchell, from National Orgnaization For Empowering Caregivers, “Healthcare Proxy Weekend will be a major effort to promote public awareness about the importance of advance care planning.” If you are a caregiver and would like to download our free Life Planning Guide please click on this link: guide: If you are an organization and would like to participate please click on: application For further information please contact Gail Mitchell at 212.807.1204 or or Mary A.Cooke, Chair, Caring Coalition of Metro NY at 212-995-6213. ~ National Family Caregivers Month (NFC Month) is observed every November, and is a nationally recognized month that seeks to draw attention to the many challenges facing family caregivers and raise awareness about community programs that support family caregivers. This year’s theme, “Caring Every Day”, encourages family caregivers to take three steps every day to make their lives easier, improve care and raise awareness about their continued love and commitment. The three steps include:
For more information please go to: www.thefamilycaregiver.org ~ Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine are beginning to test whether telephone counseling can encourage caregivers to adopt healthier habits -- regular exercise, nutritious diets and stress reduction techniques.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla - In honor of National Family Caregivers Month, November 2005, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF) is hosting its 4th annual MS Caregivers’ Night Out contest. ~ Leeza’s Place at Park Slope Geriatric Day Center, a resource and support center providing free services for Caregivers and their loved ones living with a memory disorder, will be open for media and public tours on Friday, November 4th from 4 pm to 7 pm. Leeza Gibbons will be speaking at the dedication ceremony and will be available for comment and questions. ~ Preventing Older Adults From Falling The Center for Healthy Aging provides model health programs for communities. Included on their Web site is a good-sized section that provides resources for those trying to prevent older adults from falling. Resources ~ Sign up to offer free, confidential memory screenings at your site. For more information, contact the Alzheimer's Foundation of America: 866-AFA-8484 www.alzfdn.org or info@alzfdn.org. For more information or to host a screening, please contact :Alzheimer's Foundation of America - AFA National Commemorative Candle Lighting Manhattan Ceremony at 6pm at The Interchurch Center, NYC. Join us as we remember and honor those affected by dementia. For more information, contact the Alzheimer's Foundation of America 866-AFA-8484 www.alzfdn.org iinfo@alzfdn.org. ~
~ ~ Each year in the United States, there are more than 700,000 strokes. Nearly three-quarters of all strokes occur in people over the age of 65 and the risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade after the age of 55. To help older adults learn more about the signs and symptoms of stroke and the need to act quickly, the National Institutes of Health is adding four new topics on stroke to its NIHSeniorHealth web site: Act Quickly, Warnings Signs and Risk Factors, What Happens during a Stroke, and Treatments and Research. The site features easy-to-read stroke information, developed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and may be found at www.nihseniorhealth.gov. ~ More people die as a result of medical errors than from other common causes of death including motor vehicle crashes, breast cancer, and AIDS. You are always a valuable, worthwhile human being, not because anybody says so, not because you're successful, not because you make a lot of money, but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason. Wayne Dyer Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Iris Murdoch Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into. Wayne Dyer Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no ones definition of your life; define yourself. Harvey Fierstein No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal. Marilyn Ferguson Lord, where we are wrong, make us willing to change; where we are right, make us easy to live with. Peter Marshall In organizations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions. Margaret Wheatley See My Hand? Please reach out to me. We all need to reach our hands out to one another. We just need to reach out and give the strength and faith that All my love, peace and blessings, Holly I can tell you what God's plan for your life is in general terms. This is a universal principle. God wants to use you to do something beautiful in the world around you. That's it in one sincere sentence. God created you and allowed you to be born because He wanted to use you where you are . . .
So believe in success and choose to succeed. For you're bound to help someone along the way. It's impossible to succeed without being a servant to someone. So believe that you can succeed if you really want to! God can do great things through the person who doesn't care who gets the credit. Dr. Robert Schuller A little woman called Mount Sinai Hospital. The receptionist answered, "Mount Sinai Hospital." "Hello. Darling, I'd like to talk with the person who gives the information about the patients. But I don't want to know if the patient is better or doing like expected, or worse, I want all the information from top to bottom, from A to Z." The voice on the other end of the line said, "Would you hold the line, please, that's a very unusual request." A very authoritative voice came on and said, " Are you the lady who is calling about one of the patients?" She said, "Yes, darling! I'd like to know the information about Sarah Finkel, in Room 302." He said, "Finkel. Finkel. Let me see. Feinberg, Farber --- Finkel. Oh yes, Mrs. Finkel is doing very well. In fact, she's had two full meals. Her doctor says if she continues improving as she is, he is going to send her home Tuesday at twelve o'clock." The woman said, "Thank God! That's wonderful! She's going home at twelve o'clock! I'm so happy to hear that. That's wonderful news." The guy on the other end said, “From your enthusiasm, I take it you must be one of the close family." She said, “What close family? I'm Sarah Finkel! My doctor doesn't tell me anything!" ~ An elderly married couple scheduled their annual medical examination the same day so they could travel together. After the husband's examination, the doctor said to him, "You appear to be in good health. Do you have any medical concerns that you would like discuss with me?" "In fact, I do," said the man. "After I have sex with my wife for the first time, I am usually hot and sweaty. And then, after I have sex with my wife the second time, I am usually cold and chilly." "This is very interesting," replied the doctor. "Let me do some research and get back to you." After examining the elderly wife, the doctor said to her, "Everything appears to be fine. Do you have any concerns you would like to discuss with me?" The lady replied she had no questions nor concerns. The doctor then asked, "Your husband had an unusual concern. He claims that he is usually hot and sweaty after having sex the first time with you and then cold and chilly after the second time. Do you know why?" "Oh that old buzzard!", she replied. "That's because the first time is usually in July and the second time is usually in December!" ~ THAT'S IT FOR THIS ISSUE Subscribe: empoweringcaregivers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com REGARDING THE FORWARDING OF THE NEWSLETTER: Please do not forward this letter or subscribe anyone if they have not given you permission. We would like you to share it with others, but we do not want those who are not open to receiving it to be subjected to your forwarding it without their express permission. Thank you. DISCLAIMER: The Empowering Caregivers Site and the Empowering Caregivers newsletter contain views, opinions, statements, and recommendations of third party individuals, writers, advertisers and organizations. Empowering Caregivers/www.care-givers.com does not represent or endorse the views, accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, product or service displayed or distributed on this web site. You acknowledge that any reliance upon such opinion, advice, statement or information shall be at your sole risk. The information provided by Empowering Caregivers / www.care-givers.com is for educational purposes only and should not be treated as medical advice. Nothing contained on Empowering Caregivers/www.care-givers.com is intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment or a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional. In no event will Empowering Caregivers / www.care-givers.com, its affiliates, partners, agents, or contractors be liable to you for any damages or losses resulting from or caused by Empowering Caregivers / www.care-givers.com and its services, including use of the community message boards and chat rooms, free email, free web pages, content (including articles, stories, news) or any errors or omissions in ts content, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
||
| EMPOWERING CAREGIVERS™ is trademarked. All Information on this website is owned by Gail R. Mitchell. This includes but is not limited to the journal exercises, Newslet | |||
Beth Witrogen Mcleod