{"id":7121,"date":"2015-10-05T13:39:36","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T18:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=7121"},"modified":"2017-09-19T11:52:40","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T16:52:40","slug":"the-gift-of-caring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/10\/the-gift-of-caring\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of Caring"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gift of Caring\"The<\/em><\/h1>\n

Marcy Cottrell Houle spent more than a decade caring for her aging parents. Their experiences spanned the spectrum of American eldercare, from caring, insightful doctors and caregivers to those whose indifference nearly cost her parents their lives. Houle\u2019s new book, The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, is a compelling memoir of a family dedicated to caring for people they love. The chapters filled with practical advice from geriatrician Elizabeth Eckstrom make the book indispensable for anyone who\u2019s caring for an aging parent or other relative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children of aging parents hear some advice so often it can lose its impact, like \u201cask if your parents\u2019 medications might interact\u201d and \u201ctrust your instincts when hiring caregivers.\u201d Houle\u2019s experiences show exactly how challenging it can be to follow that advice when adult children are in the thick of caregiving and overloaded with tasks. But the results of following the advice are clear. When Houle\u2019s mother is placed in the care of a geriatrician, her medication regimen is streamlined and her condition improves. After a disastrous stint with a home caregiver who had set off little alarm bells in Houle and her husband, a new home health aide named Helen creates a safe, warm and beautiful environment for Houle\u2019s mother during her last months. <\/span><\/p>\n

Eckstrom\u2019s contributions are woven into the book as Houle\u2019s story unfolds, each in its own \u201cWhat I Wish I\u2019d Known\u201d section, with information on topics most caregivers know something about, like falls prevention, to less-often discussed conditions like delirium\u2014a common, life-threatening and treatable problem that many healthcare providers mistake for dementia. There are sections on dehydration, sleep, exercise, and pain management in dementia patients, and even experienced caregivers are likely to learn something new from each of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Houle and Eckstrom also provide practical tools for caregivers. To prevent a misdiagnosis of dementia when a parent develops delirium, the authors tell readers the exact terms to use to describe their parent\u2019s \u201cbaseline\u201d health and mental state\u2014and provide detailed instructions on how to create a baseline summary to share with healthcare providers. The book includes a sample health history form and a sample daily care sheet, both intended to give doctors, nurses, and home health aides clear information and help them to provide continuity of care. The Beers list\u2014a surprisingly long roster of medications that are not recommended for use in seniors\u2014is included in the back of the book as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s much more to The Gift of Caring<\/em>, including the sweetness of the relationship between Houle\u2019s parents and her children, the frustration and burnout of caregiving work, and the \u201crollercoaster\u201d path that older people\u2019s health can take from one day to the next. There\u2019s also a call from Eckstrom for more geriatric education for doctors in general and more trained geriatricians in particular, especially as the Baby Boomers grow older. Houle\u2019s story will resonate emotionally with anyone who has cared for a parent or older relative. It also offers a practical guide for readers who are caregiving now and who want to give their loved ones the gift of good care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Order your copy of <\/a><\/strong><\/em>The Gift of Caring<\/a><\/strong> on Amazon today.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gift of Caring Marcy Cottrell Houle spent more than a decade caring for her aging parents. Their experiences spanned the spectrum of American eldercare, from caring, insightful doctors and caregivers to those whose indifference nearly cost her parents their lives. Houle\u2019s new book, The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare, is a compelling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,29],"tags":[30],"class_list":{"0":"post-7121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-caregiving","8":"tag-caregiving-2"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Gift of Caring<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new book, The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare, is a compelling memoir and must-read for caregivers everywhere.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Gift of Caring\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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