Now You Know What it Feels Like – hmmmppph!  OR Five ways to empathize with your aging patient

Ever hear that?  Fell down on the black ice – hurt my, ahem, bottomside (what side is that anyway, doesn’t it matter which way you land?).  Anyway – so I call my friend, and say ‘I really hurt my hip and my back goes ‘squeak’’ to which she replies, ‘see, now you know what it feels like.’  I guess she means that she always has hip and back pain and I’m just not tuned in to it.

It’s difficult sometimes to know what someone is going through if you’ve never been there before.  We, as caregivers, can get frustrated by this at times.  So, here’s five ways to empathize with your aging patient:

1. Put on really thick gloves and write your name, or better yet, open that pill bottle.
2. Put some soap on your glasses and write your name, or read those instructions one more time.
3. Here’s something I did as a kid, but it works here too…. Take a hand mirror, place it in front of you like a tray and walk through your rooms looking down into it. 
4. Wear your sunglasses at night, inside your house and sort out your aspirin from your non-aspirin.
5. And lastly, if you have a long bathrobe, put it on, don’t grab hold of it, and try walking down the stairs.

So, now that you can’t pick anything up, (1), or see because it’s fuzzy (2) or really, really dark (4) – and you’re hungry, but can’t seem to make it to the kitchen because your perception is a bit off and you feel a little imbalanced (3), or truly can’t quite make it down the stairs (5), Now You Know What It Feels Like!

I always center myself with a few deep breaths, and calibrate my feelings when I know I’m going to visit “Alice” – these little reminders work like a charm.

I have spent the entire morning (it’s now 1:30p) organizing my emails.  Yawnnnn – almost as boring and tedious as ‘alphabetizing your spices.’  So, what would you think of giving a gift of organizing to your loved one?

Giving a gift of ‘organization’ is cost effective because it’s your time, spent with your family member – PRICELESS and  it goes so far when it comes to the senior person in your life!   There are two ways to help organize someone’s  paperlife.  One way would be to start gathering all the existing papers, create a list and find out what may be missing (check out our website for tips on checklists).  Organize essential papers, making certain that there are an appropriate number of copies, and those copies are placed in the hands of those that need them most.  I do caution you to not have THE ONLY COPY in the bank’s safety deposit box.  Most emergencies aren’t coordinated with the banks hours.  Now that you have your checklist; your file of important papers, copies distributed accordingly – take a look at the second way.

The second ‘way’ a paperlife can be organized is through a system called MedeFile.  This system, when purchased and activated, begins the process of collecting medical records, medication lists, lab results, xray results, medical care and emergency contact information, as well as advanced directives (some of #1 paperwork).  This is all entered into a password protected, secure website, where you have control to add, edit, or delete information.  It is then stored on a thumbdrive or silicone band (eg Livestrong) for your family member to have on their keychain or wrist.  No internet is needed to access the information – just a computer!  So reason behind this is very simple – access to medical information should care be needed, simplicity in attaining records for a hospital visit, physician visit, admission to skilled nursing, moving in to an assisted living community.  The reasons are endless.  The system’s applications go beyond information – it offers a med reminder, information on medications, diagnoses.  But – that’s not the point here.

This is all about organization.  To learn how you can receive more information – visit www.TheSeniorSite.com or call Jo 630-200-1149.  Give the gift of organization this year.  Click here.

Two weeks ago we finished up new collateral for The Senior Site, Inc. which outlined all that we can offer to adult children and seniors as well as the community and service providers in the senior living sector.  Well, today I was at a business luncheon – The Geneva Women in Business holiday luncheon.  Today was a networking format, so we each took some time to explain to our fellow table-mates (is that a word?)… what we did for a living.  It usually takes about 30 minutes to explain all of our ‘verticals’ – meaning everything that we offer – so I did a quick five minute run down.  Each time I switched gears, someone said, “tell me more about what you just said, because my mother could use that.”  It was a table of eight, so seven times this remark was made.  What were they alluding to?  One adult daughter wanted to talk to her about Dakim Brain Fitness, www.dakim.com; another asked about our referral services; then one older woman said that she herself would love to learn more about Medefile, www.medefile.com – which allows you to take control of your Medical Records. Gather, store, and manage your Personal Health Records, all on a thumb drive.  Consider the applications?  When I mentioned Halo Monitoring, www.halomonitoring.com which allows one to maintain their dignity while tracking, recording and alerting the person’s blood pressure, falls, steps taken, yet another person spoke up.  The coup de grace was when we talked about funding and I mentioned life settlements through www.lifecarefunding.com and learning about Veterans Aid and Attendance benefit, it hit me – there is so much available for our seniors, and here at The Senior Site, we can educate you further and ‘hook you up’ as they say