The Flip-Side-Hair

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22 NKJV

This has been an interesting experience for me. Dad moved in with us over four years ago to help him with his medical issues. After a year, the doctors said that Dad needed more on-going medical treatment for his frequent falls and bouts of pneumonia due to his Parkinson's Disease. Although he went to a great local group home for a year, the doctors said he needed full-time skilled nursing, so he currently resides in a wonderful Veteran's Home an hour away. We go to see Dad once a week, to visit and oversee his medical care.  

We used to go see Dad two days, but now that I've broken my heel, we had to limit our trips to once a week. My injury has flipped all types of things. I had been A Christian Caregiver for over four years, but now that I'm not very ambulatory, it's the Flip-Side and I'm trying to be A Christian Caregivee, trying to be prayerful about being gracious as others take care of me.

One of the considerations I've had to make is with my hair. I could get in a vanity mode, but that isn't a Christian characteristic that Christ wants in our lives. I've needed to pick a hair style that I can do myself. I've cut my hair short just under my ears. You got it right the first time! I cut my own hair. I think it would have been a major undertaking for my husband to take me to a beauty parlor, cast, walker and all. My cutting my own hair made one less thing for my husband to deal with. 

Additionally, I've given up worrying about what it looks like. That's another vanity thing. Besides, I can't see the back of my head anyway. All I can see is my face in a hand held mirror I keep in the bathroom. That way, I can see to comb my hair and put in a barrette to keep the hair out of my eyes. I still comb the back of my hair, but have given up worrying about what it looks like. Being A Christian Caregivee gives you lots of practice dealing with vanity issues.

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.
By: Roy Naccour, ehowbeauty via You Tube


Flip Side-Clothing

He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 13:24 NKJV

Since I have a broken heel and haven't been able to walk or take care of much of anything, I've been trying to develop a sense of being a Christian Caregivee.

When someone else is doing all your laundry and has to bring your clothes to you, it's important to be mindful of all they do. It worked out that my husband had particular pants, tops, P.J.s, etc. that he would wash for me to wear. It meant I wore the same four or five outfits quite regularly. Asking him to go through my closet every day for four to five months to get me a wider range of outfits would have added to the burden of all he was already doing to take care of me. In my opinion, giving up variety was a very small price to pay for reducing his workload.
What worked well for us is that my husband would bring me my clean clothes and stack them on the shower bench in the bathroom. That way, when I was in there, I could fold them up and put them into the little wheelie travel bag I kept in there. It gave me a certain amount of autonomy which is very important when you have to have people help you with everything. I could go into the bathroom in the mornings and get the clothes out of the wheelie bag. It was just one less time I had to ask him to help me, which made me feel good. It's so important to be mindful of what caregivers go through.


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.
By: AdaptiveClothing.com via You Tube


Flip Side-Bed Sores

A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother. Proverbs 15:20  NKJV 

Over the years, I've heard it's so important to watch so the bedridden don't get bed sores. I know that in different facilities my dad was in, including hospitals, that used to be a big concern and they had to rotate his position in the bed periodically. 

I was told I couldn't put weight on my broken heel for 90 days and I needed to keep my leg propped higher than my heart. It never crossed my mind I would have to deal with this issue, but I did. I spent a month or so in the reclining chair with my leg propped up, except when I went to the restroom.

I started noticing a pain near my tailbone that seemed to get increasingly worse each day. I'd try to move some, so my weight would be disbursed elsewhere, but that wasn't really possible with my leg propped in the air. 

It became increasingly more raw, so I started praying about it. I felt led to put some Aquafor on it. I continued praying about it and rubbed that area with the Aquafor and the raw sores went away. I was worried the sores might come back, because I continued in that same position for some time, but I'm thankful it never did.



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.
By: Health Apta via Youtube

Flip Side: Bed & Bathroom Plan 7

A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers. Proverbs 17:2 NKJV

After being my dad's caregiver for one year when he came to live with us and then overseeing his caregiving for over 2 1/2 years, it seemed a little strange to suddenly be the caregivee when I broke my heel and was told I couldn't walk on it for 90 days.

Well, the Bed & Bathroom Plan 6, in the reclining chair with the porta-potty nearby, seemed to be going fine for awhile. Then, I started having pains in the hip and knee sockets on the leg of my broken heel. Being prayerful about all of this, I pondered that having the leg of my broken foot propped up for two months probably put an unnatural strain on my hip and knee. If I could no longer sleep in the reclining chair, I prayed for Christ to give me a remedy to my newest Bed & Bathroom issue. 

I realized that the most normal position for my hip would be to lie flat. I tried to lie down in the bed, but the aircast made it very difficult. I put pillows the length of my side of the bed, but it wasn't comfortable, so I went back to the recliner.

After another night of my hip hurting, I was determined to try again. I tried a different set of pillows and did it on a Sunday afternoon, so I had plenty of time to rearrange them if they weren't comfortable. After lots of different arrangements, one pattern of pillows seemed to work out better than the others.

That night, I was optimistic, but had a difficult time sleeping. After praying about it off and on for most of the night, the feeling I got was that Jesus would get me through it! After that, I didn't feel as stressed about it as I had, and have been sleeping that way since. I'm not saying that every night is wonderful, but Christ does get me through the nights, some good and some less so.

I forgot to explain that the porta-potty is few feet from my bed. That's because of the one time I raced to get go the bathroom in time, but found it difficult to breath afterward. Now, when I feel the urge, I sit on the side of the bed and push onto the nightstand with one hand and the bed with the other. Once standing, I take hold of the walker near my bed and start making short quarter turns to go toward and to back up to the porta-potty. We have a roll of toilet tissue and bottle of water next to the porta-potty, so  I can clean up afterward.

When I'm finished, I do everything in reverse. I push up on the handles of the porta-potty to standing and grab onto the walker. I take small quarter turns toward the bed and then back up to it. When I feel the bed against the back of my legs, I put one hand back on the nightstand and the other back on the bed to ease myself to a sitting position on the bed. Sometimes I take both hands to guide the leg with the aircast into the right spot on the bed. 

Also, I found it helpful to put a pillow next to the leg with the aircast. This idea was a real blessing from God. It allowed me to sleep more peacefully, because I didn't have to worry about my husband kicking my injured leg in his sleep. He's never done it, but has come close. Now, I don't have to worry about it.


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.
By: Brooke Ziegler via You Tube

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