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Caregiver Lifeline: This First Connection

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Welcome to this first connection. The purpose of this blog is to share caregiver resources and lessons I learned during my experience. Feel free to comment and to pass them on.

Caregiver Resource Hints for Medical Care:  Keep notes on each medical visit in one place.

Sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, I stare at the clipboard and blur of questions I’m supposed  to answer. Automatically I begin filling out name, address and easy personal information. Soon I am asked to list the medications the patient is talking. Fear and embarrassment set in. I fill that pill box every week and can only remember a few medication names. Names which right now I have no idea how to spell.

I skip to the medical history. What was that doctor’s name? What was his diagnosis? Wait, was that the doctor or was it one of the others? There have been so many visits, so many conversations with terms beyond my comprehension.

I am on the verge of tears or at least frustration to the point of wanting to slam this clipboard on the desk. Why are people asking things of me, things I can’t remember? I am worried, trying my best to take care of my loved one. Now I have to be a bookkeeper, comprehending and remembering things buried in my personal grief and pain.

I learned the solution too late. Being a person who does what is at hand and then moves on to the next thing, note taking (even if I could read them or know what I meant) is foreign. However, my son has a system I wish I had employed. He takes his phone and makes notes of the day, time, doctor, reason for visit, gist of the visit and pertinent points of each visit. He has a complete record of the care his wife is receiving. This not only allows him to fill out these daunting forms, he can spot inconsistencies and questions he needs to raise. What a valuable tool for you to consider.

Making our journey easier by Jacklyn Brown, author of “Confessions of a Caregiver” which is available in print and Kindle form from Amazon at http://bit.ly/confessionsofacaregiverbyjacklynbrown

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