Having to Break the Sad News to My Dad

 My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck. Proverbs 17-8 (NKJV)

My dad had moved where I live some time ago, so I could help with his health issues. His wife, on the other hand, remained in their home, so her daughter could help with her health issues. It wasn't ideal, but it's what happened.

Well, I found out the other day that Dad's wife passed away after getting a serious bout of pneumonia. Because Dad's doctors said that Dad needed skilled nursing 24/7, he now lives in a nice Veteran's Home an hour away from us. I didn't want to call Dad and share news like this. Besides, it's difficult for my Dad to hear on the phone.

 My husband and I went to go see Dad and break the news to him about his wife passing. Before we did this, we talked to the nurses and some of the staff to look in on Dad periodically and see how he's doing. They all were very supportive and said that they would. Dad seemed to handle it pretty well, but wanted to fly there to take care of things. I tried to explain that he has an oxygen tank and that he shouldn't be flying, but that just frustrated him. It has to be overwhelming to lose someone that you love and to not be with them as support, although Dad wouldn't have been physically able to do so anyway. I just need to be understanding if he gets frustrated from time to time, because it may be one of the ways he's dealing with his grief. We will all miss her dearly and my dad doesn't always verbalize how he's feeling.  My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck. Proverbs 17-8 (NKJV)

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Senior Loss of a Spouse
By: 6 on Seniors, CBS 6 Albany, Tim Bartos, Baptist Health Nursing & Rehabilitation Center via You Tube

Christ's Hand was in This!

The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it. Proverbs 30:17 NKJV

 I was very surprised to find out that Feedspot has included A Christian Caregiver as one of the Top 200 Christian blogs. You can see the list by clicking on this link or the badge to the right: Feedspot's List of the Top 200 Christian Blogs.  Should I have been that surprised, because Christ can do anything? 

 It was Christ who gave me the instincts to write this and the other Christian blogs. It was Christ who kept me going after someone hacked into this blog about a year and a half ago and deleted 100's of links I had put on A Christian Caregiver Blog. It made me so sad, because these links were there to make it easier for viewers to find topics that might pertain to their caregiving needs. 

 It was Christ who led us to open our house to my dad when he needed a place to stay. His wife was bedridden at the time and I think he didn't want to be a burden on her or her health. It was Christ who helped my dad blend in with my family and get to know and develop a deep love for his great-grandchildren. It was Christ who helped us through all of Dad's many falls, broken bones, many bouts of pneumonia due to having Parkinson's Disease, and for us to still be able to laugh over the silly things. 

 It was Christ who allowed us to enjoy every moment we could with Dad in our home, until the doctors felt his condition warranted more medical care. It was Christ who was there as Dad had a short stay in a nursing home for rehabilitation from pneumonia, a brief stay in an assisted living facility, residence in a group home and finally ending up in a wonderful Veteran's Home, because the doctors determined he needed skilled nursing 24/7.

 Along the way, Christ has been with us as the family's played many games of dominoes, creating memories to last a life time. Christ's given me grace and guided my words when Dad was not feeling well and was cranky! Christ continues to be there as we visit Dad weekly and Dad has continued to play a major role in my children's and grandchildren's lives. I've been truly blessed through the good times and the bad. Why should I be surprised that Christ would have this blog acknowledged, so others can find something that can help them in their caregiving experience? Although I'm very humbled by this, I realize that Christ's Hand was in this all along!
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: What Do the Symptoms of Parkinson's Look Like?
By: Parkinsons NGO via You Tube

The Third Part of My Plan for Eating Snacks When Going to Visit Dad

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the might hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; 7 Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
We go visit my dad every week in a nice veteran's home. He is there, because of his frequent falls and his frequent bouts of pneumonia, since his doctor said he needed skilled nursing 24/7. Because the veteran's home is an hour away, we generally stay the night at a reasonable local hotel and visit him again the next day. The thing is, continued eating out was making it so my pants didn't fit well, nor did it blend in well with our goal to eat in a more healthy manner as we age. 

After being prayerful about this, we made several changes. The changes with our dinners is two posts prior to this and our changes with lunch is the post before this one. This post is going to focus more on the changes we made with snacks.

At first, I thought I was making wise snack choices. I would bring a large bag of organic lightly salted popcorn with only 130 calories per 3 cups. If that's all you ate, it wouldn't be bad at all, but that wasn't the case. It turned out that I was eating most of the bag while I was watching the TV in the hotel. The accumulated salt in several 3 cup servings was more than I should have and even though it had reasonable calories, it was adding up by eating most of the bag and my pants weren't fitting very well.

After being prayerful about changes we need to make, we decided to bring apples to snack on the way up to see Dad and the way back home. We also pack cottage cheese and fruit cocktail in it's own juice for an evening snack, since I needed more calcium due to Osteoporosis. Sometimes, we bring our own cut up fruit. It just depends on what we have handy and our timing. These changes helped us to feel full and not be doing mindless eating while we went to go see Dad each week. Since we all have situations where we have to eat elsewhere, maybe some of these changes may be worth contemplating. 

 Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Caregiving for Older Adults - a Part of Our Culture
By: Sanni, In Holm Productions, Senior LinkAge Line via You Tube

The Second Part of an Alternate Lunch Plan When We Go Visit Dad

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Hebrew 13:5 

It might seem strange that I'm dedicating a few of my blog posts, (the previous one, this one, and the next one) to an alternate eating plan when I go to visit my dad. My dad has Parkinson's Disease and his doctors said that he needed to be in a skilled nursing facility 24/7 due to his falls and frequent bouts of pneumonia. Now, my dad lives in a very nice veteran's home an hour away, so we most often spend the night and see him again the next day.This is real life, and sometimes we have situations that happen where we have to be away from home and I thought these blogs may be helpful.

Since I was gaining weight by going out to eat every week when we went to visit my dad, I was trying to be prayerful of changes that should be made. Last week's post focused on the dinner changes we've made. This week focuses on the lunch changes we've made. 

We decided to pack a PB & J sandwich for each of us, so that we can have it for lunch. The main reason for this is that we don't have to worry about keeping it refrigerated, although we do keep it in the fridge in our hotel room over night. I tend to get clogged when I eat peanut butter very often, so I ended up switching to an AB &J sandwich. That is an Almond Butter and Jelly sandwich. We use light bread, so that two slices have the same calorie value as one regular slice. We also use Polaner All Fruit Spread, so we don't have any added sugar or artificial sugars. Also, we bring along an apple to eat with lunch. This plan adaptation works well for us. It not only keeps us healthy, but it is gentle on the pocketbook, as well.

 Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: How to Balance Life, Work, and Caregiving
By:Fox 4 Now, Fox 4 Morning Blend, Michelle Cunningham, Amy Goyer via You Tube

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