|
Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™
August 15,
2004
We Need To Talk:
Having A Family Meeting
|
Should we have a family meeting? If you're
asking the question, the answer is probably, "Yes."
If you have concerns about an older family member, and you
have siblings or other close relatives, a family meeting
can be the best way to share those concerns and begin
putting together a plan.
The best time to call for a family meeting is before you
have a crisis to deal with. Your parent will have more
options, and you'll have more choices as a family if you
have a basic plan ready to go, even if you decide not to
actually implement anything right away. At least you'll know
what your alternatives are. But realistically, most family
parent care meetings are organized after something "not so
good" happens.
Who Should Call A Family Meeting?
|
Anyone who has concerns should call a
meeting. Often the person who is already providing
day-to-day help calls the meeting. Sometimes the son or
daughter who lives at a distance wants a meeting because he
or she feels out of the loop. Or family members may have
gathered because a parent is hospitalized with a serious
illness.
Read The Rest...
Does your elder use a portable commode by the
bed or somewhere else in the house? If so, you know the
problems all too well: They don't smell good. They're tippy.
Cleaning them is nasty and no one wants to do it.
A lot of our loved ones resist using them. That really
increases the chances of falls or incontinent accidents, and
that increases caregiver stress. Having to walk someone
who's unsteady and in a hurry to get to the bathroom in the
middle of the night is an injury waiting to happen for both
the needy person and the caregiver.
Here's a solution: A Portable Camp Toilet.
Advantages: It's completely sealed, so there's no (or
minimal) odor. It's squat and square, so it's just as stable
as your bathroom commode. It has a sizeable holding tank, so
it doesn't have to be emptied so often.
Disadvantages: It's low to the ground, so you'll probably
have to build a platform for it to sit on. This isn't hard -
we did it at the family summer cabin. There aren't any arm
rests for leverage. When you build your platform you
can attach some. Medicare won't pay for this, as it will a
standard 3-in-one commode.
I believe the advantages in comfort and cleanliness outweigh
the disadvantages by about 100 to one.
You can buy a sturdy camp toilet in just about any good
camping store. If you want to take a look at one, there's a
picture and a brief description of the
Coleman brand. There are many others to choose from.
I do believe this had to have been my grandmother, bless her
pessimistic old heart ...
An old lady, really quite well, was always complaining and "enjoying poor health," as she expressed it. Her various ailments were to her the most interesting topic in the
world.
One day a neighbor found her eating a hearty meal, and asked her how she was.
"Poor me," she sighed, "I feel very well, but I always feel
bad when I feel well, because I know I am going to feel worse afterward."
|
|
|
|
